TMNT:Family
by CaptainPlum
Summary: A young girl is chased down and four figures save her. She does not fear her savours but shares feelings for one of them and he returns them. Will they share their love in time and will it last? With the shredder interested in her as well. please read and review leoXoc. This includes some of the 2003 and 2012 characters. The turtles are based from the 2012 version. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

**TMNT: Family**

 **Chapter 1**

Her breathe was quick and she struggled to keep her pace up, she had been trained in the art of ninjutsu and had done heavy workouts but she felt as though she hadn't taken a break at all right now. For every step she took she hoped that her legs would keep going and carry her to safety. As she peered quickly behind her she saw purple dragons chasing her down, they were big brutes but they were slowly closing in on her. Her heart was racing and all she could hear was its constant thudding in her chest, her muscles ached and she could taste blood in her mouth from where the purple dragons got some lucky shots.

The street didn't seem to end and there was no decent place for her to hide, where ever she would go they would follow and undoubtedly find her. She wanted to just turn and fight them all but immediately she knew that she couldn't take them all down. How she wished that she was at home snuggled in her warm comfortable bed even that was rare for her as she lived with her constantly drunk father. Shaking her horrible excuse for a home from her mind the teenage girl saw a fire escape ahead and as ran towards it she lifted her bruised arms up to grab the bars and pulled herself up.

There was no rest once she had made it off the street because the purple dragons were still following her and were trying to climb up too. So she took a deep breath and ran up the metal steps to the roof where she stood hunched over hoping to catch her breath from all the running. After a minute or two she heard rough voices behind her and automatically knew it was them.

"For thick headed criminals you guys are sure quick on your feet when you want to be" she insulted

It was obvious that they hadn't come to talk or to hear her throw insults at them, instantly one charged at her and as if it was a reflex she turned on one foot while lifting and swing her other foot around until it collided with the man's face which made him groan in pain and fall backwards on to the ground. She smirked as two more came at her and all she did as they charged and raised there torture weapons was jump out of the way. Both of them crashed in to each other and fell to the floor unconscious. The final purple dragon stood there thinking about his attack and waited for the teenager in front of him to make the first move, just then she charged at him and laid a punch on to his face. She kept throwing punches and kicks but all he did was evade her attacks until he saw his opportune moment and punched her in the stomach making the girl back away from him.

"This is what you get for being on our territory and not paying" he laughed

She gave him a small glare before he approached her again to punch her again but she quickly kicked him between the legs and backed off smiling.

"And to do that I didn't need to learn ninjutsu"

She turned around about to run off when she banged in to something big and hard, to her it was like she had run in to a brick wall but after falling to the floor holding her head she looked up to see a large muscular man with a purple dragon tattoo on one arm and on the other some other tattoo in red. He also had a scar on his face which made him more terrifying as it looked as if he had been scratched pretty hard and deep in to his face. He looked down on her with disgust especially that his men had been defeated by a small teenage girl.

"You think that you won't go unpunished? Think again…"

"Who are you?"

"My name will haunt you forever if I decide to let you live" He grabs her arm and crushes it slightly lifting her up to his eye level "I am Hun"

The girl cried out in pain at the pressure on her arm, she thought that there couldn't be anything worse than that pain but she was wrong. Hun continuously punched her stomach until his final blow he landed on her face which he then released her for and she was push by the momentum on the punch to wall on the other side of the roof, she lay there unconscious battered and bruised. Hun approached her as the other purple dragons stood up looking at their boss and the unconscious girl. He then started kicking her whilst listening to her painful screams.

The others looked on as if they were watching the most beautiful thing they had ever seen when the one furthest away was kicked to the floor and everyone turned to see four figures in the shadows.

"My night is getting better and better, first I teach this girl a lesson and then I'll teach you turtles" he smiled

Hun crept towards them cracking his knuckles. Each other the figures spread themselves out. The opened her eyes slightly trying to wake herself up but she was in so much pain and all she could make out were blurs. She tried to focus on the figures that seemed to have come to help her two of them were fighting the purple dragons while the other two were fighting Hun. She tried to open her eyes more and push herself up but she could only manage to lean against the small wall, she felt so weak and helpless.

She still tried to focus on the four figures but she could still see blurs. Just then the purple dragons were down and two of the figures came close to her, one of them seemed to look at her as though he was amazed by her, she could just make out an orange band around his head. The other checked over her bruises and had a purple band around his head. He then looked at her directly and could see that she was fighting to stay awake.

"Don't fight the need to stay awake you need to rest." He said softly

Just then the other two joined.

"We need to get outta here Hun won't stay down for long"

Suddenly one of them that had a blue band around his head gently put his arms around her and lifted her up bridal style, she let her body's weight dangle and lean against him as she fell into the darkness.

They all retreated into the sewer, Leonardo carrying the unconscious girl in his arms and for some reason he liked the feeling of having a person in his arms that he felt that he needed to protect. Donnie led the way through the sewer when they came to a tunnel that led to a dead end. He reached up and pulled down a lever that unlocked a key pad, after putting in the passcode the wall lifted as well as the security locks and their lair was revealed to them.

Immediately Leo, Donnie and Mikey went to the lab but Raph went straight to his room. Leonardo placed the girl down on the table Donnie had. Mikey grabbed a cushion from the living room and put it under her head.

"Gosh she's so hot" he laughed

Leo gave his younger brother a roll of his eyes and then looked back at the girl

"Is she going to be okay Donnie?"

It took a few moments before he replied "It looks as though her left arm is broken and she has a lot of bruises that will hurt her for a while but apart from that she will be fine. Mikey get some water"

Mikey did as commanded and went to get a bucket of water. Leo waited for Mikey to return before he started to clean her arms and face. Donatello bandaged her up and placed a blanket over her.

"I've done all I can for her now, she needs to rest"

They all then walked out of the lab, Leo went to sit on the floor of the main room while the other two went towards their bedrooms so that they could rest after the night's events. Leo kneeled there, his eyes closed and breathing paced, he was in deep thought of how Hun had treated the girl on the roof that night.


	2. Chapter 2

**TMNT: Family**

 **Chapter 2**

She slowly awoke her eyes fluttering as though they still didn't want to be opened. There was a dim red light above her and the room around her was dark apart from the sliver of light that came from between two doors. It was obvious to her that her savours had taken her somewhere safe and had bandaged her up, but failed to make her pain go away from her bruises. She lifted herself up to sit on her metal bed almost immediately did she feel a little bit sick but she dismissed it as her moving too fast. She pushed herself off and wobbled a bit on her feet before slowly making her way towards the light.

She was about to open the doors when she decided to peer through first just in case and her eyes widened at the sight of a large turtle laying on the couch, his arm drooped over the side and his eyes were closed, she knew he was sleeping and didn't want to disturb him but quietly open the doors and walked out. She walked over to him and saw that he was wearing a blue bandana.

"You're the one that carried me" she whispered

She gasped slightly as she instantly recognised two katanas on the floor beside the couch and their sheaths on his shell. She backed away slowly wondering if he was dangerous. She then focussed her attention around the rest of the room, it was big and the sitting part was rectangular with a television at one end surrounded by movies, recorded cartoons and video games. Above the centre of the circle was a spiral makeshift staircase. There was what looked like Japanese wall on the other side of the room with some light coming from it, she ventured over but didn't go in. She saw a large tree on one side and what looked like another door but it was closed, on the other was weapons on the wall. It looked pretty and she had come to the conclusion that is must be a dojo of some kind. She turned back to the main room and was about to go explore somewhere else when she heard a soft voice.

"You should still be resting"

She looked over towards the turtle to see he was no longer sleeping but looking at her in concern. She was curious of him and that there must be more of them because she remembered seeing four figures.

"I don't really do well resting, I prefer exploring" she giggled

She walked towards him and he was surprised that she was not freaking out or asking questions. When she was close she held out her hand.

"My name is Elizabeth but you can call me Liz or Lizzie"

"I am Leonardo but everyone calls me Leo"

Leo took her hand and shook it, he made sure that he did not grip it too firmly because he knew she was still in pain.

"Wait you're not afraid of me or freaking out" he asked

"Why would I?" she smiled

Liz sat down on the couch and Leo joined her while they talked.

"Because most people do, it's not normal to see a giant turtle walking around talking"

"Neither is it normal for a giant turtle to save me nor bring me back to their home"  
He smiled at her response as it showed kindness and compassion towards him.

"Thank you for saving me Leonardo"

He bowed his head as a response and she did the same.

"So you're not freaking out or did you do that when I was sleeping"

"You undermine yourself Leonardo as well as what you expect from others, I am not freaking out because I don't see a turtle standing in front of me"

Leo got confused, she was speaking through wisdom and experience and wanted to understand her more.

"Then what do you see?"

She looked in to his deep ocean blue eyes and gave him his answer.

"I see a good person that helped another in a time of need, for looks do not matter but their actions do"

When Liz said this she placed her hand on his chest roughly where his heart would be. He looked down at her hand and then into her bright sky blue eyes. He was amazed at how he never thought he would find someone that would not freak at their appearance and would not see them for what they are but who they are inside. They both smiled at each other before they heard someone from behind cough as though to grab their attention. Leo and Liz turned to see a large rat in dark red and black robes standing behind them. He held an emerald green walking stick and looked down on to the turtle with a little anger.

"Leonardo why do we have a house guest?"

Leo quickly got up and stood before his sensei

"Master Splinter she was chased by the purple dragons and attacked by Hun, She was badly hurt, we couldn't just leave her there"

Splinter closed his eyes and stroked his beard he was in deep thought. Liz knew that he must be the one that teaches the other in the arts, so she approached him cautiously not wanting to offend him. His eyes opened when he sensed her moving, Splinter saw that she stood before him and gave him a respectable bow.

"I do not wish to intrude, neither did I come here by choice as I was unconscious. But if it is your existence that you protect and wish to remain secret I will honour it"

"You speak with wisdom dear child, why is it that you do not fear us I wonder" he questioned

"I see people's hearts not their physical appearance, sensei. I have been trained in the arts too but am yet to complete it"

Splinter placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled. To her if felt as though she was being tested. Liz looked up at the rat and saw trust in his eyes.

"You may stay for as long as you wish"

With that said he turned and walked away. Leo looked at Liz in shock he had never thought that someone from the surface could be so understanding or respectable.

"I saw you fight those purple dragons and you showed skill"

"Thank you"

They both went to sit down again and resumed talking. Only when the other turtles emerge from their bedrooms did they stop and talking.

"Hey hot girl is awake"

Raph gave his younger brother a smack on the back of his head and went towards the kitchen.

"Sorry about Mikey he's not good at making a first impression, my name is Donatello but you may call me Don or Donnie" he bowed

She guessed that Leonardo was the eldest and that Mikey was the youngest but she just needed to figure the last two out.

"How are you doing?" Don asked

"My bruises hurt and my arm does if I move it, I presume that you are the one that put it in a sling"

"Yes but it is broken so you will need to not put too much strain on it for a while"

"Don't worry I heal quickly"

Mikey then went towards the kitchen with Leo in tow

"Can we get anything for you" Mikey asked

"Coffee please" she replied

Donatello went towards his lab and a couple of minutes later re-emerged with a syringe and needle.

"I can give you this which will help with the pain"

Liz held out her arm for him in to inject the fluid in to her body, when he was done Mikey had returned with a mug of coffee and gave it to her, he smiled to her wanting to just watch her but he returned to the kitchen to cook his brothers up some breakfast.

"So are you guy's good friends or something?" she asked taking a sip from the mug

Donatello just laughed at her remark after finding his older brother talking to the girl you'd think that he would have told her about them.

"No actually we are brothers, Leo is the eldest, Raph is second eldest which you have yet to properly meet him, I'm second youngest and Mikey I think you can guess is the youngest. I'm sure you will want to learn how we came to be but first I want some breakfast, so if you'll excuse me"

Donnie then went to the kitchen and Liz was left alone to drink her coffee. For the first time she felt relaxed and at home, she did not miss her father and actually liked being around the turtles. Everything was peaceful when Liz suddenly heard a loud yell.

"WE CAN'T KEEP HER HERE, WHAT IF SHE IS WORKING WITH THE SHREDDER!"

Liz was surprised by it and knew that it must be the second eldest Raph that had said it because he hadn't spoken to her yet and the others seemed very comforting towards her. Liz didn't want to be a burden towards them and did have a life, although it wasn't much of a life, on the surface. She didn't plan to stick around anyway mostly because she had her own problems to handle, purple dragons being one of them.

Liz put her empty mug down and decided that it would be best to leave before things got out of hand, she stood and climbed over the couch like it was steps towards the exit before she left completely she took one last look around the place, taking in its openness. Liz didn't really know where she was going as she had never been in the sewers but she was only looking for the nearest ladder to somehow climb out with a broken arm.

"I suppose the challenge is ahead of me" she joked

When she finally found a ladder she managed to quickly climb up one at a time, her legs pushing her up and her good arm grabbing one bar and quickly letting go to grabbing the next. It took a while but she got to the top and pushed the manhole lid up slightly with her good arm to check if it was clear to go. The last thing she wanted to do was draw attention and reveal the turtles secret, her leg was really aching from being put in a position so that should would not fall. There was nobody about so Liz lifted the lid completely, it was very heavy but she managed it. After climbing out and putting the lid back she decided that even though the last thing she wanted to do was go to her so called home she needed a shower.

Fortunately when she got home her dad was not, so she had the place to herself, immediately she went to her bedroom got some clean clothes and entered the bathroom. It felt great having the water wash the dirt from her hair and skin away. It made her relax slightly until she forgot that her left arm was broken and tried using it but she ended up wincing in pain. After her painful shower she put a new clean sling on to remind her that it was broken and went to her room. Everything in there was how she had left it, nothing was touched which she was happy with. Pictures of her friends were stuck all around her walls and images of her and her parents before her mother died. Liz's laptop was sat on her desk closed and with lots of newspapers on top on it. Newspapers of when her mum died in a fire trying to save Elizabeth as a child. This brought tears to her eyes and she felt as though she hadn't found any answers for herself about the death of her mother because she knew it was no accident like the papers said it was. Then what she heard from Raph played through her mind…

" _SHE COULD BE WORKING FOR THE SHREDDER!"_

Who was this Shredder that he was referring to? It hurt her a little that she had not properly met this Raph and he was already accusing her of something. Perhaps living in the sewers and only knowing that people will be afraid of them and won't understand them has made him like this. After staring in to space for a while Liz heard tapping on her window, she went over to see Leo and Raph standing there, Leo smiled but Raph didn't make eye contact although he did look guilty. She waved her hand to tell them to come in as for obvious reasons she couldn't open the window herself.

"What are you doing here Leonardo?"

"A good question is why did you leave? And what are you doing here?"

Leo approached her thinking that he had done something to upset her perhaps, Raph followed him but still didn't look at her, he was more interested in what he found in the corner of the room.

"This is my home, and I left because I didn't want to stir up trouble between you and your brothers"

When she said that she looked directly at Raph who could feel her gaze on him for once he turned and gave her eye contact.

"You heard me?"

"I'm surprised the whole city didn't hear you…erm"

He knew she wanted to say his name but she did not know it completely yet

"Oh I'm Raphael or Raph. I'm sorry it didn't mean it, I have a bad temper that's all"

"The question is do you control your temper or does it control you?"

"Hey that's sounds like master Splinter"

She gave him a little smirk

"I have a temper too Raphael but I control it, I know what it's like for it to control you. You end up hurting the people you love the most"

Raph was astonished at her words and that she has a bad temper too, something then and there made him trust her, her wanted to open up to her about his temper but then remembered his brother was listening so he didn't.

"I can teach you to control it if you would like" she offered

Raph smiled he wanted to get rid of his anger issues and always tried, Sensei would tell him to do something about it because he wanted Raph to figure it out on his own.

"Sure why not, so will you come back now?"

"But this is my home…"

Raph then pointed to what he had spotted in the corner of the room "Doesn't seem very homey to me"

Leo followed his brothers pointing to see bandages, plasters and tissues covered in blood and right beside it was a dagger, it was clean and looked unused.

"What is that?" Leo questioned

Liz bowed her head she did not want to answer their questions. Suddenly the front door slammed closed and a loud voice could be heard calling her. Liz's eyes widened in horror that she was going to have to deal with this right now.

"Excuse me"

She ran out her bedroom and in to the main room where her dad had sat down on a sofa with the TV already on to the football match.

"Yes Dad"

He held a kitchen knife in his hand and turned towards her, he looked at her broken arm and then went to her.

"How did that happen?"

"I was attacked by purple dragons"

"WHAT WERE YOU DOING PLAYING AROUND WITH THEM WHEN YOU SAID THAT YOU WOULD GET ME SOME BEER'S" he shouted

"I was getting your beers but they attacked before I could get to the shop, I'm sorry dad" she cried

Tears flowed down her cheeks, and her father gave her and angry, disgusted scowl.

"YOU THINK THAT YOU GOT A BROKEN ARM THAT YOU WILL GET SYMPATHY OUT OF ME"

He quickly slit the side of her good arm and blood started pouring out. Liz tried to make it look like it didn't hurt in front of her father so that he wouldn't do it again, he then smacked her face and returned to the sofa and TV.

"Get me the bottle of vodka in the fridge and don't let me see you again tonight"

"Yes father"

Liz quickly grabbed the drink and gave it to him, she rushed towards her bedroom and went straight to the first aid kit she kept stocked under her bed. She noticed the turtles were gone and she was relieved as she didn't want them around to hear that anyway. She cleaned the oozing blood and put pressure on her new wound to stop more from coming out but she needed to get a bandage around it, which would be impossible right now as she can't do anything with her broken arm. She was only using it to stop the other from bleeding.

"As I said not very homey" spoke Raph

Liz looked towards the window to see both Leonardo and Raphael standing on the fire escape with the window wide open.

"I thought you left"  
Leo then quickly entered again and placed his hand on her wound.

"We only went out there just in case your father came in and saw us, there is no way we were leaving or going to leave now"

Raph came in too and grabbed a new bandage from the first aid kit, he began wrapping it around her wound making sure that it was stopping the bleed but also not stopping the circulation on blood. Leo placed his other hand on her cheek where there was a hand print from where her father hit her.

"Why do you stay here if your father abuses you?"

She began to cry again

"Because he is all I have left, there is no one else"

"You have us now" comforted Raph

"Wait… you heard everything?"

Raph knew how to answer that question exactly.

"I'm surprised the whole city didn't hear" he repeated from what she had told him earlier

Liz laughed a little at him.

"So now we know why you have an unused dagger" said Leo

"It's to protect me it he attacks me with a knife, but I don't want to use it"

"He just did attack you, why not use it?"

"Because it only proves that I'm as bad as he is"

They had finished wrapping her arm up and placed the blood covered tissues on the other pile, Raph then saw an empty bag at the foot of her bad and grabbed it, he placed it down in front of her as was still crying.

"What are you doing?"

Raph took most of the clothes from her wardrobe and folded them in to her bag.

"There's no way you're staying here" he exclaimed

Leo nodded his head in agreement and asked Liz what she wanted to take with her. Everything she mention like her laptop and all the newspapers Leo grabbed and put in to another bag he found. After a couple of minutes the only things she needed was her toothbrush ect. Leo quietly opened the door and saw the bathroom was just across the hallway, so he stealthily went in grabbed everything and went back.

"How did you do that without my dad seeing you, He always hears and sees me"

"I'm a ninja" was Leo's reply

When they were done Raph flung both heavy bags over his shoulders and headed out the window while Leo helped Liz climb out the window herself. By the end of it he decided that it would be best to carry her so without hesitation he lifted her bridal style and carried her all the way to the lair. But this time she was conscious. One thing didn't change though and that was that he felt very protective of her again and liked the feeling of her in his arms.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Once back at the lair Raphael had his younger brother help him move some things out from a spare room they had which was only used to store some stuff in because master splinter would go ballistic at the sight of an untidy home. Donatello helped Liz unpack while Leo went to get her a cup of tea as requested. Don opened up the second bag she had brought, knowing that she had put sensitive stuff in the first, and began emptying it. He saw the photos of Elizabeth and her friends in the park having fun and messing around but then he brought out a load of old newspapers that were well kept and some had scrap pieces of paper inside with things written down as though Liz was trying to discover something. He thought it best to leave it alone and not ask questions just as Leo came in with a hot, steamy mug which he placed on the bedside table.

Liz smiled at Leo as he came in and began sticking up the photos on the walls just as he remembered from her bedroom.

"Thank you guys for letting me stay here"

"Well we can't let you stay at your dads, not after what I heard anyway"

"It's funny. I never left because I wanted to preserve what was left of my family but now that I have left I feel better and I don't miss my dad"

Donatello smiled he was glad that he and his brothers were able to help her and make her life better. He saw that Liz and Leo were constantly looking at each other and caught on to what was going on and left them to it. He returned to the main room to find Mikey watching cartoons and Raph working out on the punch bag.

"So how is hot girl settling in?" exclaimed Mikey at his older brother

"She's fine Mikey and stop calling her hot girl"

Raph smirked at his brothers remarks and continued to punch the bag as though it was the shredder

Leo sat down next to Liz on her new bed when they were done and watched her drink her tea.

"I see that you've tried to make it resemble my old bedroom"

"Just making more comfortable for you"

Liz then yawned and closed her eyes she began leaning on Leo and he knew that she must have been tired. Leo stood and placed her head on to the cushion and lifter her legs on to the bed. He left the bedside light on but turned off the ceiling light and left the room to let her sleep.

 _She was crying, she was sat in the middle of the living room and was crying as the building around her was on fire. "Mummy" she cried but there was no answer. She began to crawl to the front door hoping to get out of the apartment but she was struggling to breath. The black smoke surrounded her as she heard a loud laugh, its evil tone rang through her ears. "Mommy!" this time there was a reply_

" _ELIZABETH! ELIZABETH I'M COMING!"_

 _She tried to crawl further but she felt weak and frightened. She lay on the floor inhaling the black smoke and coughing to get rid of it, her eyes began to close when she could just make out her mother running through the door and grabbing her. Hands grasping her so tight, she tried to wake up but couldn't and only heard the heavy breathing of her mother trying to escape the fiery inferno._

 _Just as she was about to slip away she felt pain on her body as though she had been thrown and heard a woman scream her name with an evil laugh right beside it. The fire drew close and was about to light her up._

Liz woke up immediately with a little pain from her broken arm at the sudden jolt. She looked around and saw she was in her room the turtles fixed up for her, she was safe away from any fires or screams. Liz climbed out of bed and felt wet from sweat as well as out of breathe.

"Not again" she mumbled

Liz went over to her little desk and saw her laptop at the bottom of a stack of newspapers on one side of the desk but right in the middle was her sketch book. She opened it to see a picture of her mum and herself when she was little stuck at the front with a little message from her mother underneath it. Liz flicked through the pages seeing her drawings of fire and apartment buildings and several pages filled with a strange symbol that she had been tracking down for ages she had not seen it in a while apart from last night when she was attacked by Hun. He wore the symbol as a tattoo on one of his arms. It was red, almost a diamond shape but at the top were three points the middle one being the tallest point they look like spikes or peaks.

The last page she drew was of a fire-fighter that had found and saved her from burning to death. He was kind and personally took care of her until she was reunited with her father. Liz still knew the fire-fighter today she saw him regularly and considered him family. Elizabeth opened up a new fresh page and began drawing, she would always draw something random she would never think about it but scribble and she would always find that it took the shape of something. Liz would always do this after a nightmare to either remember it or use it for clues later or to distract her.

After about an hour Liz found that for the first time she had not drawn something from that nightmare like she always did but she had drawn Leonardo for some reason. She smiled at the drawing and began to blush so she closed it and decided to get dressed she carefully moved her left arm and when she did she felt no pain at all as though it was completely healed but she knew it wasn't because she had been down this road before so she decided to put the sling on again even if she could move it a bit more.

"I said I heal fast"

She emerged from her bedroom to find the other doors along the corridor were closed so she guessed the others were still sleeping. When she reached the main room she decided that although she was injured she was going to keep to her training anyway and the best way to do that was to mostly use her legs and meditate. Liz wondered to the dojo and began doing hard kicks in to the air.

She found this quite easy and painless so she knew her bruises were healed, she thought about practicing her evading manoeuvres but then again they do require arm movement sometimes and so didn't. After 30 minutes of leg training she kneeled before the strong tree in the dojo and breathed softly, she emptied her mind and entered deep meditation. She must have been doing it for some time because she opened her eyes when she sensed someone watching her.

It was master splinter.

"You enjoy your training don't you?"

"Yes sensei" she bowed

Splinter walked over to her from his private room and presented her with a katana.

"This is a Katana I got from Japan, it was hand crafted by an ancient Japanese blacksmith. The metal had been folded so many times to make it light and strong. I present it to you as you are worthy"

Liz took the katana she awkwardly lifted it to her left arm so that she could unsheathe it and when she did her eyes laid on the shiny metal that had Japanese writing on it. She immediately recognised it.

"Sensei this is Jokoto, it is very ancient. I don't think I am worthy of such a beautiful weapon"

Liz tried to hand to katana back after placing it back in its sheath, but Splinter looked down upon her.

"I know you are ready, for instance you identified this katana instantly"

"Legend says that if you speak these ancient Japanese inscriptions the katana will glow with immense power"

He smiled and nodded at her knowledge of the weapon

"But young Elizabeth no one speaks the ancient Japanese language"

Liz bowed at him

"I can speak a tiny bit of it actually, I bet I can translate it. Thank you sensei"

Splinter then left to the kitchen as Liz kneeled again and placed the katana in front of her, she felt blessed and excited to unlock the inscriptions. But before she would start her research she would continue her meditation.

Leo was the first to wake up and see that Liz's door was wide open, he went to the dojo for his early morning training while his brother usually start to wake up but was surprised when he found Liz meditating in front of the tree. We walked over to her and noticed a katana lying there too.

"Leo, how are you today?" Liz asked

He saw that he must have disturbed her with his presence.

"I'm good, surprised to see you here actually but I forgot your trained in the arts too" he laughed

She began to get up but Leo could see she was struggling so her offered his hand she took it and then fell backwards pulling Leo down with her he ended up lying next to her on the floor. Both looked at one another before laughing.

"I'm so sorry Leo"

"It's okay, we all struggle now and then"

Leo then stood and held out his hand again to Liz

"Wanna try again" he said

She took his hand and stood up right properly this time. When they were both stood they stared in to each other's eyes and lost themselves. Both began to blush when they heard Mikey calling to everyone that breakfast was served. At once they snapped out of it and felt a bit embarrassed.

Liz took her katana and went with Leo towards the kitchen.

They found Donnie drinking coffee and eating pancakes, Raph however was just drinking his coffee.

There were three other mugs and plates filled for Liz, Leo and Mikey.

"You don't want pancakes Raph" Liz questioned

"Believe me you won't be wanting pancakes in a minute either" he said

Liz was confused about what Raph said and began eating her breakfast. She loved the softness of the pancakes and how fluffy they were. Not a burnt bit in sight just a perfect pancake, something she could never enjoy with her dad.

Liz then realised what Raph had been talking about when she looked over at the chef to see Mikey stuffing his face with what looked like ten pancakes topping with a bucket full of syrup.

"Told ya" was Raph's remark to her stunned face

Leo and Donnie laughed it was going to take a while before Liz would get used to Mikey's eating habits.

After breakfast the guys did there morning training session with master splinter watching them and giving them activities such as team training. All stuff Liz had never done as she had always trained on her own. She stood watch over them hoping that she would learn even if she couldn't join in herself. She saw Leonardo use his katana's to hit Michelangelo in the stomach with the handles. And Raphael snapped Donatello's staff in half and began hitting him with the remains. It was then down to the two eldest brothers.

Both knelled before each other and began to fight Leo tried to deliver some blows but Raph evaded in the end Raph used his Sais to trap Leo's wrist and flip him over his shoulder on to his back.

Master Splinter then called to them and they knelled down. Of course Raph boasted about how he won the fight but Splinter put him straight. After their training Donnie took me to his lab to check up on my arm and bruises.

"Wait, your bruises have healed already" Don questioned

"I told you I heal fast"

Just then Leo came in asking for a cream to help with the ache in his wrist from training. He smiled at me as Don examined my broken arm.

"Your arm is better than yesterday too"

He seemed confused at how she had healed fast just like she said.

"Everything okay Donnie" asked Leo

"Yes, I mean Liz wasn't kidding when she said she healed fast her bruises have gone and I estimate that her arm will be back to normal within two days"

Both of the turtles looked at her in disbelief

"What, everyone is different" she shrugged

She then exited the lab, leaving Leo and Don speechless

After a couple of minutes Don spoke up

"So what's going on between you and Liz?"

Almost immediately he had an answer so that the discussion would be quickly dismissed.

"What do you mean, there's nothing going on"

"Yeah right, I've seen the way you look at her bro"

Leo could tell he wasn't going to win this one.

"Okay fine, I kinda like her. I felt something when I was carrying her home. Like I had to protect her and all."

Donnie just laughed and he thought his crush on April was bad. Leo gave his brother and unimpressed look before leaving the lab. When he left he saw Raph and Mikey playing video games and Liz sat on the couch with an unsheathed katana and a book in her lap. He ventured over and sat beside her.

"What are you doing?" he asked

"I'm trying to decipher the inscriptions on the Jokoto that master Splinter gave me"

"Wait… Jokoto the ancient katana, Splinter had it and gave it to you… and you can read the ancient writing"

"I can sort of read it"

"That's so cool, the language is supposed to be dead"

Leo looked over at her as she read through the book about the history of ancient Japan. He saw how her sky blue eyes shined in the light and skimmed over the book quickly looking for the information. He chocolate brown hair hung over her shoulders but it bounced slightly where it was wavy. His heart began beating faster when she looked up at him and smiled she even scooted closer to him so that he could see too and help her out.

Leo took a deep breath in and then let it out.

"You'd be surprised how much I love Japanese culture" she said

Liz put her hand down from where she was flicking through the pages and found that she had put her hand on top of Leo's. They then looked at each other before hearing Mikey moan about how he lost to Raph on his video game. They both took their hands away and coughed looking away from each other.

"Come on Leo, I bet I can beat you too" teased Raph

Leo was about to reject raphs offer to play but noticed Liz go towards her room and so took the controller from Mikey and began playing.

"What's wrong with me? First I draw Leo and then we both fall over and now I can't even talk or sit next to him without feeling weak or hot" Liz questioned

She started feeling hot and blushed again when she thought about Leo, it was as if he was making her weak and taking away her train of thought. When he was around she always lost herself in his eyes and found herself missing him when she had not spoken to him in a while. There was just something about Leo that made her feel weak at the knees.

"YES! I win again" Shouted Raph

He then began doing a victory dance. Normally Leo would care and win at this game but right now he didn't he lost the game because he was thinking about Elizabeth and how when he is with her he feels complete and would do anything for her. He wondered how someone as strong as he is could feel so weak at the knees.

That night the guys went on patrol leaving Liz at the lair. She wanted to go with them but didn't bother asking because she knew that they would tell her that she couldn't so she waited until they were gone to leave. She liked living with the turtles but she did feel a bit trapped sometimes and misses the freedom of going outside. When she reached the surface she saw that there were people around still even if it was late evening, this was the time that if people wanted to go shopping but had to work all day they would it now. Liz didn't expect anything different in the city that never sleeps. She walked along the side walk careful not to bump in to anyone in case her arm wasn't as healed as previously thought. She walked quite a way and worried that she wouldn't find her way back.

She walked towards the park and saw just sat on a bench in the middle of the park was her three friends Emma, Jayden and Jessica.

She walked towards them having missed seeing them around.

"Hey look it's lizzie" yelled Jessica

"Ssshhhh Jess, this maybe the city that never sleeps but there are some people sleeping" Laughed Liz

All three of them stood and walked over to Liz each giving her a hug.

"We haven't seen you in ages Lizzie, where have you been?" asked Jayden

"I've been staying away from my dad"

"Don't tell me that your dad did that to you Lizzie" said Emma

They all looked down at Elizabeth's broken arm in a sling.

"Oh no purple dragons did that, this was my dad"

Liz pointed to an almost healed mark on her right arm where her dad had cut her with a knife. Her friends stared at her in shock.

"You gotta do something about him Lizzie, He should be worried about you being attacked by those thugs not attacking you himself because you let it happen"

"I am doing something about it Emma and I didn't let the purple dragons do this to me it was an unfair fight s'all"

"You went looking for answers again didn't you?" questioned Jayden

Liz tried to look less guilty but couldn't contain it

"Fine, but if I don't no one will"

Emma, Jayden and Jessica shook their heads at their best friend's actions.

"Your gunna get yourself killed one of these days, so how are you staying away from your dad then"

"I'm staying with some friends that's all"

Then Liz thought of Leo and blushed.

"So who are these friends, who do you like?" asked Jess

"What makes you think…" Emma interrupted her

"Your blushing Lizzie"

"Okay I like someone and so what"

They just stood there in silence. Liz felt bad, normally she would see her friends almost every day and share pretty much everything with them but recently she hadn't seen them and she can't tell them about the turtles.

"You know Danny has been worrying about you, he hasn't seen you in ages and you always visit him once a week"

"So I haven't seen him in 3 weeks, I've just been busy"

"Finding answers?"

"Yes if you must know"

"Fine, I'll go see him now"

Liz walked off away from her friends with guilt she went straight to Danny's apartment. This wasn't going to help her either as she told Danny everything too but that's mostly because she could trust him ever since he saved her from the fire when she was little she would go to him if there was a problem. Liz rang the doorbell and waited for him to answer.

The door swung open and the next thing Lizzie knew she was engulfed in to a big hug.

"Lizzie, I can't believe that it's you. It's been so long. How have you been?" He invited her in.

"I've been good, attacked by purple dragons and more dad troubles but still good"

"Are you okay, most people don't look as good as you do after an attack? How did you get away?"

Lizzie was silent, she completely forgot about the turtles and that they would probably have gone home and found that she wasn't there. Now she was in trouble.

"Lizzie?"

"Oh I ran away and some friends helped me"

"How did you get attacked?"

"I was going to get some beers for dad"

Danny raised an eyebrow at her.

"Okay so I was finding answers and then I was going to get some beers"

"Lizzie, you can't keep doing this"

He was about to hug her again to comfort her but she backed away

"I'm not crazy, I know the fire was no accident"

"Lizzie have you been having that nightmare again"

She just looked at the floor and didn't bother replying, he knew the answer anyway. Danny just put his fire-fighter jacket on and grabbed his keys.

"Listen, I'm on call tonight so I have to go. Stay here tonight away from your dad where you're safe. I meant what I said a month ago I will report your dad."

Liz just walked past him before he could close the door. She would stay with him sometimes but she was safe with the turtles and knew that she shouldn't let them worry. She heard Danny call after her but she didn't want to talk to him anymore, even he thought she was crazy. Liz ran out the front door of the building and up the first fire escape she could find. She liked being up high and the wind blowing through her hair, it made her feel free. She walked over to the edge and sat down letting her legs dangle.

Overlooking the city Lizzie thought over everything.

"Maybe I should have stayed in the lair"

"Maybe you should have" came a voice behind her

Lizzie turned and saw Leo stood there. She turned back around so that he wouldn't see her blush again, which seems to be a recurring thing with her.

"I'm sorry Leo, I wanted to get some fresh air and I missed my friends"

He walked over to her and sat beside her.

"Although now I kinda wished I didn't come up here"

"You really had me worried you know"

"You?" she questioned

"I mean us… you had us worried"

Lizzie laughed.

"I know, I just used to go outside quite a lot and now I don't have a reason to anymore"

Leo smiled he knew the changed wouldn't be easy for her but he was really glad that nothing bad had happened to her.

Liz shuffled towards him and rested her head on his shoulder as they looked over the city together.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Leonardo and Elizabeth walked in to the lair together laughing, holding each other's hands. Once they entered and saw the others watching tv they let go as if they hadn't noticed that they were holding hands till now. They both blushed before Liz turned away and was about to go to her bedroom after she had quickly kissed Leo on the cheek and whispered "Thank you".

When her bedroom door was closed Leo stood there stunned he felt as though his body had melted at her touch, he was burning up from the inside and his heart ached that a kiss on the cheek was all that had happened.

"Hey love bird you going to join us or what?" asked Raph

Leo looked down at his brother and smiled as there was no point in arguing over the matter because he was knew what was in his heart he really liked Elizabeth and if the others could see it then there was no point in denying it.

"So you ever going to tell her your feelings or are you going to keep looking at her like she's a freak?"

"Very funny Donnie, but you do the exact same thing to April."

"No bro, you do it a lot more" argued Raph

The others nodded in agreement. Leo wanted to tell her but what would he say? What if she doesn't feel the same way? Things would be really awkward for the both of them if she didn't share his feelings. Even though he was supposed to be watching tv with his brothers Leo couldn't help but let his mind wonder about Liz. Picturing her in his mind and taking in her beauty. Things didn't help when they all went to bed that Mikey started teasing him about it as he had noticed his older brother in his own little world during the tv show.

" _Mommy!" yelled a young Elizabeth_

 _There was no reply. She felt so scared and helpless, the flames were coming closer and closer it was as if death was reaching out and taking her right then. She readied herself to be taken for there was nothing she could do when she suddenly heard a scream, and her name being constantly called._

" _Elizabeth!...Elizabeth!...ELIZABETH!"_

"MUM" shouted Liz

She woke up quickly as she could blink huffing and puffing. Then there was silence as Lizzie looked around and once again saw that it was just the nightmare again and that she was safe. Before she laid back down again Leo burst through the door.

"Liz are you okay?"

"Yes Leo, I just had a nightmare"

Leo could see that it must have been bad because he could see it haunting her face and mind.

"Tell me"

She stared at in surprise, as she did not think he would be interested in her nightmares. He sat beside her and pulled her in to a hug to comfort her.

"If I told you then I'd have to tell you my whole childhood"

"I want to know"

Liz sighed, this was going to take some time but she told him everything.

"My nightmare is sort of a memory that I can't remember when I'm awake so I draw things out to make sure I remember, that's probably why I know so much about it now"

Liz got up slowly grabbed her sketch book and sat back down next to Leo handing him the book. He flicked through the pages as she told him.

"When I was very small I lived in an apartment with my mum and dad, one night my dad was working late and my mum had been having a conversation with our neighbour in the hall. I was sat in the living room when a fire started and I kept hearing this evil laugh. I was shouting for my mum and tried getting out but I was so small I couldn't, in the end my mum appeared and took me away. I was sort of unconscious but I was awake enough to know that mum had thrown me from her grasp to safety and then she screamed and kept calling my name."

Leo looked at her a little scared that she had gone through such a terrible time in her life and he felt bad. He looked at the sketch book and saw the images of herself as a child crying and the flames around her getting closer. He then saw a drawing of her mum carrying Elizabeth to safety and her throwing her towards the exit.

"And through all that I kept hearing the evil laugh, and that's when the nightmare ends. But then I remember being pulled from the fire by a fire-fighter. He took care of me and brought me back to my dad, that's when he started losing it. After the fire we went back to see if there was anything to recover and I found this"

Liz took a piece of black cloth out from under her pillow it was torn and had the same red symbol on it that she had drawn in her sketch book. Leo took the cloth and stared at it as he recognised it immediately.

"When I was old enough I started training to be a kunoichi, so that I could defend myself. When I was sure I could do that I started snooping around for answers about the fire and my mum, trying to find out about that symbol"

Lizzie began to cry and Leo just pulled her in to a hug to let her know that he was there to comfort her. After about 5 minutes she stood and walked over to her pile of old newspapers she picked the top one up, it being the day her mother died, and handed it to Leo.

"Everyone says that it was an accident and all but I know different. I know that someone purposefully started the fire and when mum tried to escape with me someone stopped her so that she wouldn't survive"

Leo's eyes were as wide as they could go. In all his life he never thought that such a thing could have happened and he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Everyone thinks I'm crazy but I'm not Leo. You have to believe me" she pleaded

He put the paper, cloth and sketch book down beside him and took her hands in his.

"I believe you Lizzie"

She smiled at him but was still crying. Her heart skipped a beat when he leaned in and kissed her cheek and then pulled her in to a hug again, she felt weak and helpless at his touch. He was so understanding and gentle towards her the fact that he believed her made her feel calm and strong.

"Thank you Leonardo" she whispered

After a couple of minute Leo felt Liz start to drift off to sleep and he also felt drowsy. He carefully placed her head in to her pillow and moved the Paper ect on to her desk so she could lay down properly. He was about to leave her to sleep when he heard her mumble something.

"Leo, stay with me tonight please"

"Sure"

He went to his room grabbed his duvet and placed it on the floor next to her bed and layed on it. Liz got a blanket from the bottom of her bed and put it over him before closing her eyes,

"Night Leo"

"Night Lizzie"

Both soon fell sound asleep and throughout the night Liz didn't have any more nightmares. It was as though Leo was blocking them as she felt protected and safe with him around.

The next morning Liz woke up and found that Leo had already got up, she wanted a wash before breakfast so went towards the bathroom in the hope that Mikey wasn't in there as she knew he took forever. Considering Raph's assumptions on breakfast she was definitely going to take his word for it about the bathroom. After her shower she thought she would risk looking in the kitchen to see what Mikey was making but it was safe as he was making scrambled eggs on toast.

"Hey Lizzie, sleep well"

"Of course" she smiled

When she made herself a mug of coffee and sat down Mikey placed the plate of food on front of her and one sight of it made her mouth water. The delicious smell was intoxicating her nose. She took a bite and her taste buds melted at how good it was.

"Mikey, this is delicious. How do you do it?"

"If I told ya, I'd have to kill ya" he shook his head

As soon as he stopped talking the others came in from their morning training session and began eating their breakfast after Mikey placed it in front of them. Liz saw that this time Raph was eating.

"I am right to presume that scrambled eggs are safe" she asked

He winked at her as a reply and carried on eating. Liz couldn't help but look over at Leo as he was eating which she found quite amusing especially when he noticed her and nearly spilled his food all over the floor. She giggled slightly and went with Mikey to play video games when he was done. Leo and Donnie were left to clean up after breakfast seeing as Raph likes to do a workout afterwards.

"How is Lizzie doing Don?"

"Her arm is pretty much fully healed. Which surprises me actually, but she does have a point everyone is different"

Leo had a big grin on his face when he heard his brother say this because to him Lizzie was very unique actually pretty much perfect. Don finished up walked in to the main room to see his younger brother playing video games with Liz, he saw that she was not wearing her sling anymore and she was moving it around normally with no pain or strain at all.

"Liz, are you fully healed?"

"Pretty much Don but I'd give it another day just in case"

She didn't look at him at all but grin and keep her eye on the television as she was trying to beat Mikey at his own game. It was easy to see that they were both putting a lot of effort in to the game so that they would win but occasionally Liz's mind started to wonder for a couple of seconds about Leo. She would think about how he was worried about her last night and had wanted to hear about what frightened her. She also got a clue from him about the strange red symbol as when she handed the cloth to him she saw him stared at it hard and his eyes widened quickly and then went back to normal as soon as he saw it which gave away that he recognised it somehow. And she wanted to know how he knew it?

Leo came out of the kitchen and took a quickly glance at Liz before we went to the dojo, Liz knew he would be alone and so went after him not worrying about her game with Mikey because she knew she could always beat him some other time. When she entered she saw him practicing katas with one of his katana's. He was slashing his weapons done as well as doing high kicks in to the air.

"Leo, can I ask you something?" she asked

"Sure, fire away"

She smiled and came at him with a kick that he quickly evaded.

"What do you know of the symbol I showed you last night?"

Leo was stunned that she went straight to the point and knew that he probably did a lousy job of hiding it last night when he recognised it. He then started attacking her, taking care to make sure that he did not make her strain her arm even though he knew it was pretty much healed.

"I don't know. I've never seen it before"

He lied to make sure that whatever information he would have given her she would not go looking for trouble.

"Sure? Because you looked like you had seen it before last night"

"Na I was just surprised at your story and what the symbol could mean s'all"

She knew he was lying but chose not to ask any more questions or push him further as she knew she would never get an answer out of him. He was hiding something and she began to think that I would probably be best if she had asked him about it before telling him her story. After about 15 minutes of steady sparring Leo went to meditate under the tree and Lizzie thought it best to go see Donnie about the symbol.

"Hey D, can I come in?"

Don nodded as he was busy working on making retro mutagen seeing as it takes forever to make. Liz entered and didn't bother making sweet talk with him because he was too busy and wouldn't listen anyway.

"Don what do you know of this symbol?"

She sketched it out on a scrap piece of paper on his desk with a pen she found next to it. Donnie gave the drawing a quick glance and then went back to his delicate work.

"It's the symbol of the foot clan, they're a clan of ninja's under the command of the shredder. He's our worst enemy who always wants to destroy us but we have yet to defeat him."

Liz smiled at all the information she was getting, as he was talking about the shredder and how he used to be good friends with master Splinter Liz took the liberty of writing everything he was saying down on another piece of paper. Even the part where he spoke of Karai which she learned is Splinter daughter, Miwa, but Shredder has been manipulating her in to thinking he is her father and that Splinter killed her mother.

"We've been trying to convince Karai of the truth for a while now but shredder has a deep influence on her"

Donnie looked up and found that Liz had already gone from where she was standing so he carried on working in piece. Liz closed her bedroom door and went immediately to her laptop, she searched in 'foot clan' and looked at everything sites that had files of crimes committed by unknown criminals and images of the red symbol. Lizzie then remembered what she had heard Raph shout the other day when she first came to the lair. "WE CAN'T KEEP HER HERE, WHAT IF SHE IS WORKING WITH THE SHREDDER!" Lizzie then wrote that down also. Raph had referred to the shredder which means that the turtles must know quite a lot about him.

Liz then heard Mikey walking towards his room so quickly caught him before he went inside.

"Mikey where is the foot clan's base?"

"You know that tall building opposite the church with skylights at the top on Bleeker Street. That's it"

"Thanks"

She then closed the door again and Mikey just shrugged his shoulders and went in to his room. Liz now knew where she would finally get some answers, she was quite happy that after all this time she was right there was someone behind her mother's death and now she was finally getting somewhere, she was finally going to find out the truth.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Lizzie snuck out of the lair when everyone was sleeping and out to the surface she followed her notes she had made from Mikey's information about the shredders location. She had ran up the nearest fire escape and leapt over the rooftops like she used to do in her training sessions. When she approached the building she could see she was in the right place because she saw foot ninja's guarding the perimeter then she remembered Donnie telling her that they are not human they were robots.

Liz knew she had to be smart especially as she learned that the turtles were having trouble defeating him. But she had different tactics and was more interested in finding out the truth and having revenge. She leapt across to a blind spot where the skylight roof had been smashed which she presumed was made during a fight between the shredder and the turtles. She peered inside and saw what looked like an empty throne room but she heard an approaching foot bot, probably surveying the area. Liz hid behind a concrete pillar and waited for the foot bot to pass her when it did it had stopped like it sensed something was wrong so she was quick.

Lizzie crept behind it and pieced her new katana, master Splinter had given her, right through it where she had figured the power core of the robot must have been. A couple of sparks flew around before she retracted her blade and the robot collapsed on to the ground. Another must of heard the commotion and approached she jumped on to one of the pillars and waited for it to look upon the other and then she jumped it and pushed it off the roof.

At once she zipped inside and looked around for anyone. But there was nothing, just silence through the endless night.

Liz jumped down from her position and constantly looked around as she sensed danger and knew everything was far from okay.

"So the turtles have taken you in" came a voice

Elizabeth stared at where the voice had come from which was at the empty throne.

"And you decided to come here, why?"

A figure appeared from behind the throne Liz could tell it was Karai at the sight of her.

"I have come for the shredder, I want to know the truth"

Karai did not understand what the girl was talking about, she was only given the orders to capture the girl that had infiltrated their base. Liz had not come to talk to Karai and understood that there was no point in to trying to convince her that she was being used by the shredder. Liz drew her katana from her sheath on her back and held it in a defensive position. Karai smiled, she did not know what this new enemy was capable of but if she was anything like April O'Neil then she could easily take her.

Karai charged at her enemy and began attacking, she threw punches and kicks quickly but Liz evaded her attacks and went on the defensive. For each attack she evaded Elizabeth noticed and learned the ways Karai liked to attack and waited for the opportune moment for when she landed a punch in to Karai's stomach and face and then she lifted her leg high in to the air and span around on the other until her foot collided with Karai's face and she fell backwards with blood oozing from her nose and mouth.

"Go ahead finish me"

"I'm not like you Karai, I have honour"

Liz looked down on to her defeated opponent with pride. She had won a battle against her with an arm that was broken not a day ago which Liz did find strange but she accepted it.

"You defeated my daughter in combat and still remain here" said a dark voice

Elizabeth turned to face the evil shredder who had been watching the fight and wondered why the girl who he knew was out matched was still there.

"She's not your daughter shredder and you know it, I'm here to find out the truth and I know that you know what I'm talking about"

He narrowed his eyes. He was quite disappointed that Karai had not beaten the girl but was intrigued that she had come all this way to find the truth out for herself and learning that she is staying with the turtles meant that to him he could use the girl to his advantage.

"I was the one to start the fire that night, your mother tried to protect you from me and she paid the price with her life"

Elizabeth's eyes widened in shock, for all those years she had the truth but somehow she still didn't believe it and now it was being laid out in front of her.

"But why did you want me?" she questioned

"Before you were born I captured your mother and gave her to the Krang to experiment on but she escaped. When I learned that she had had a child that would have made an excellent weapon to use I came for you only to have you escape as well"

Liz didn't understand half of what he was talking about, who were the Krang? Does that mean she was a weapon experiment? Did the shredder still want to use her as a weapon?

"I am surprised you had not questioned yourself beforehand, you possess qualities that I can use, and I will"

Liz had heard enough she wanted out of there now, her revenge could wait for a while now. But when she was about to make her quick exit she felt an unbearable pain in her back and fell to the ground she was then kicked continuously and saw that the shredder was not going to let her leave as he grabbed her and extended his wrist blades and stabbed her in the stomach. It hurt but she could tell that he did not stab her in too deep considering that he must want her as a weapon still. He let her go and retracted his blades.

Liz fell to the ground unconscious. She was strong but underestimated the shredders power and strength. The shredder walked away from her and sat on his throne.

"Karai, take the girl and use her to get to the turtles. I want them destroyed"

Karai bowed to her Master and ordered the foot bots to take the girl to an old warehouse by the docks and tie her up. Karai left for the docks ordering another to go get the turtles attention somehow.

In the sewers Leonardo couldn't sleep, he somehow expected to hear Liz shouting again as he heard the other night when she had that nightmare but he didn't hear anything. Leo still worried about her though and felt extremely protective of her. He hoped that she did not see through his lie about the foot clan symbol but he did have his doubts considering that he didn't hide the fact he recognised the symbol very well. Leo decided to check on Elizabeth just in case but when he exited his room he saw her bedroom door wide open. After a quick peer in her room Leo saw that she was not in her be or for the matter it didn't look like it had even been touched.

He was quite worried at that point and ran around the lair shouting her name hoping that she would answer, when he came back to the main room Leo spotted his brothers approaching, they must have heard him calling Liz.

"Hey bro, what's going on?" asked Mikey

"Liz is missing"

"Where would she go?" questioned Raph, he was too tired to think about it but what he heard next shocked him awake.

"Erm… Shredder" mumbled Mikey

"How does she know about shredder?"

Donnie started to whistle at Leo's question

"Donnie"

"She asked me about the foot symbol I was busy so I told her, but I didn't tell her where they are based"

Everyone then looked towards Mikey.

"What, I was going to my room when she asked where he was"

"And you didn't think that was suspicious?"

Mikey shrugged trying to get the blame off of him. Leo got really annoyed with his brothers and the thought of Elizabeth in danger, he knew her ninjutsu was good but against the shredder she was an easy meal. Even his brothers were no match for the evil overlord.

"We gotta save her"

Leo ran towards the exit knowing there was no time to waste.

"Wow Leo really loves her doesn't he" announced Mikey

Raph slapped his little brother on the head as he and the others followed their leader out of the lair. When they were all on the rooftops they heard a loud crash beneath them and ran to the edge of the roof. On the street a foot bot had caused a road collision and had left in a hurry leaving a note on one of the wind screens.

Don saw one of the cars leaking and another had set alight.

"We need to get the people out before that explodes" he pointed towards the unconscious driver and his passenger.

The turtles leapt down and approached the collision. Leo and Mikey went to the driver's side and pulled the door open, Mikey tried to unbuckle his seatbelt but it was jammed.

"Out the way Mikey"

Leo drew out one of his katana's and sliced through the seat belt. The man was carried out by Mikey and placed down away from the cars. He leaned on the building and had blood running down his head. Leo checked his head and saw that it was a small cut but nothing major, eventually Raph and Donnie came over with a woman who had been in the passenger's seat. Raph placed her next to the man but she did seem to be injured. Don held the note the foot bot had left and read it out as Mikey wrapped the man's head in bandages.

 _Turtles,_

 _You will come to the old warehouse by the docks, or your little girly friend will be swimming with the fish._

"We have to save Elizabeth" announced Leo

"Wait Leo, this could be a trap"

"No Donnie it is a trap, but I'm not going to let anything happen to Liz"

The four ran off towards the docks for Leo there was only one thing on his mind and that was saving Liz. He knew that if he hadn't have lied to her she wouldn't be in this situation. He had been meaning to tell her how he felt but didn't have the courage but now he felt as though he had all the courage in the world, he wanted her safe in his arms.

Elizabeth was barely conscious when she felt Karai punch her face.

"Wake up! I want you begging for the turtles to save you"

"Well you're going to have to punch harder then" Liz teased

Karai grew impatient with her, she is tougher than she looks so she punched her again but this time in the stomach but she still didn't beg. Through Karai's impatient torturing Liz wasn't going to give her what she wanted. Liz's mind was on Leo and how she did wish he would save her and pick her up in his big strong arms. Karai then decided that the best way to get her prisoner to beg was to endanger her more so she made the foot bots tie her up on a high mast overlooking the sea. She made the bot stay with the prisoner and await commands.

"What do you get from this Karai? Shredder is only using you"

"Shut up! You don't know anything"

"I know who you really are Karai. You're Splinter's daughter, Miwa. And deep in your heart you know it too"

Karai clicked her fingers and the foot bot that was next to Liz punched her again.

"Leave her alone, Karai." Leo shouted

Liz's heart beat faster when she heard Leo's voice it echoed in her mind with its stern and protective tone.

"You seem very protective over this one Leo, I wonder why"

"That's not your business. Your quarrel is with me and not with Liz"

"So she has a name. Well Leo if you and your brothers don't surrender then little Lizzie becomes fish food"

Karai again clicked her fingers and the foot bot cut one of the ropes which loosened the others and made her lean towards the sea more. The turtles watched as Liz murmured as she fell a tiny bit, Leo feared for her life.

"That one rope was securing her there, now that it's broken the other ropes are slowly breaking right until she falls in to the sea. Splash" she said sarcastically

Raph grit his teeth together, his anger building up. He only released his anger when Leo ran towards Karai and clashed katanas with her, Raph charged at a foot bot taking it down with his weight and smashing it to pieces with his Sais. Mikey ran at more foot bots with Donnie in tow both took down two foot bots each but only Mikey shouted "Boyakasha"

Leo in turn made many attacks at Karai and she at him, Leo knew he had to get to Liz as quickly as possible but Karai wouldn't give up so he had to be smart.

"LEO!"

Leonardo was distracted by Liz falling a little more as another rope snapped and she was one step closer to becoming shark bait. Karai used the distraction to strike at Leo she attacked with her katana slicing at him but he deflecting it and sliced at her back making her fall backwards. She was about to get up but Leo pointed both of his katanas at her to keep her down, her then heard Liz shout for him again but he didn't get distracted he waited for Raph to finish with the foot bots and cover Karai for him. Leo climbed up the mast to Elizabeth as she fell a little bit more, just before he reached her the foot bot that was on the mast too attacked him and Leo fell to the ground as he used his katana to pierce the bots armour and shut it down.

Liz had her eyes closed she knew she was on the last rope and at any minute it would snap but she hoped that someone would save her in time. At that moment her thoughts turned to Leo and how protective he was over her. Did he really feel the same way about her? She wondered why he lied to her. Could she really trust him? All of a sudden the final rope snapped and Lizzie fell, she was plummeting towards the sea. Liz screamed slightly but was lucky to catch on to one of the hanging ropes, she knew that it would also snap soon but she did buy herself some time. She didn't know how to save herself there was nothing else to grab on to just then the rope snapped but she was suddenly caught. Lizzie looked up and saw Leo holding on to the end of the rope.

"Leo?"

"I'm not letting you go, Lizzie. Give me your hand"

She wanted to give him her hand so that she wouldn't fall from the rope snapping again but she hesitated.

"Why should I trusted you, you lied to me. You said you didn't recognise the symbol and I knew you did"

Leo felt guilty he knew he shouldn't have lied. The rope began to break strand by strand both could see it.

"I'm sorry I was just trying to protect you"

"By putting me in more danger"

"I care about you. I…" He was scared to finish his sentence "I love you Lizzie"

She was silent there was nothing to say back, she couldn't believe he loved her and she had been wondering if he felt the same way she did. She saw the rope was about to give way and quickly took his hand and let go of the rope. He was slowly pulling her up until she was in his arms, he held her bridal style with her arms around his neck. They jumped down from the mast and on to the roof of the warehouse again, he put her down and they both looked at each other staring in to the others eyes and loosing themselves.

"I love you too Leo"

They both smiled and slowly leaned in to a kiss. At her touch Leo melted he had never felt this way before and was sure that he would never feel this way again. Raph, Don and Mikey watched as their brother and friend kissed passionately on the roof without a second thought about fight they were supposed to be in. As Raphael was distracted Karai made her move she ran around the three turtles and charged at Leo and Lizzie, She took down Lizzie which broke the kiss and took out her katana hold Liz at point.

"Come any closer and your little girlfriend loses her head, literally"

Leo clenched his fists he was about to charge at them but his brothers held him back.

"Let her go, Karai"

Karai smiled and backed away from them. Liz knew Leo and the others wouldn't let anything to her but she knew that if Karai got the chance, and she's pretty much got the chance, she would take her back to shredder to use as a weapon probably against the turtles. But whatever he would do to her she would never hurt them especially not Leo.

"Sorry Leonardo but the foot could really use this weapon against you"

Leo looked concerned at Karai's statement, what did she mean by weapon? As they backed away Leo took another step closer but felt hopeless to save the girl he loved. As Karai looked behind her to see if there was a way down Liz took the distraction and moved Karai's katana away from her and elbowed her in the chest.

"Sorry, I don't take orders"

With that Liz grabbed Karai's wrist and flipped Karai over her shoulder to land on her back on the ground. Liz ran over to Leo and he drew her into a big hug. To Lizzie it felt nice to be in his strong arms and to feel protected. Raph and Donnie made sure Karai didn't go anywhere. Karai only stood, narrowed her eyes at Leonardo and Elizabeth and threw down a smoke bomb before disappearing in to the night.

"Oh she got away" exclaimed Mikey

"Don't worry Mikey she'll be back" Donnie pointed out

"And we'll be ready for her when she does" Raph looked at his older brother continuously hugging Liz.

"Lizzie, what did Karai mean by weapon" asked Leo

"Now that's a long story, Leo. One you might want to sit down for"


	6. Chapter 6

**TMNT: Family**

 **Chapter 6**

Everyone arrived back at the lair tired and relieved that Lizzie was safe. She went to the couch and sat down the others joined her as well as master splinter after Donnie went to get him.

"So tell us Lizzie"

"Shredder had kidnapped my mother before I was born and she was given to the krang, they experimented on her but she managed to escape, the experiments they did on her was passed to me. Leo remember that nightmare well its real. Shredder confessed that when he learned about me he wanted to kill my mother and use me as a weapon because of my capabilities so he set the building on fire."

Lizzie began to cry she didn't think such a thing could make her feel so sad but this was her mother they were talking about.

"I don't know what capabilities he was referring to but I can easily guess that he wants to use me as a weapon against you"

Splinter thought for a moment.

"Shredder wanted you as a baby so that he could raise you to do his bidding, as if doing this to my daughter wasn't enough" he said

"If it's okay with you Lizzie I want to run some tests. Maybe then we can learn what the shredder is after"

She nodded and gave a weak smile, Leo sat next to her and gave her a hug making sure that she felt safe. When they drew away they both looked in to each other's eyes and the atmosphere was silent until Mikey decided to speak up.

"So anymore action from you two tonight?"

Raph smacked his little brother on the head and Leo and Lizzie looked at them blankly before blushing bright red. Donnie disappeared in to his lab for a moment and then appeared with a needle and syringe.

"I'm going to need some of your blood Lizzie"

She held out her arm to him and looked away as she hate needles they had always freaked her out. She felt a sudden prick for a couple of seconds and then it was over, she must have looked like a child acting so scared of a little needle.

"I think it is time to get some rest my sons"

Splinter walked away towards his room while Donnie put the blood sample in his lab and did the same Raph and Mikey followed the purple clad turtle to their rooms. Leo too was about to follow but saw that Lizzie hadn't moved.

"Lizzie are you okay?" he asked

She looked towards him and smiled, he could see that something was bothering her but didn't want to intrude on her thoughts.

"I just don't know what to do. I've been looking for answers for a long time now and now that I've found them…it's just…"

Leo again sat beside comforting her.

"I think the next thing is to end shredder, avenge your mother and make sure you're off of his wanted list for good"

"Thank you Leo, you have no idea what you have done for me"

"I lied to you"

"You're not going to hold that against you are you? Leo I know you did it for the right reasons and that's it there is nothing more"

Leo still doubted himself but she didn't. Lizzie shuffled closer to him and leaned in for a kiss her returned it and felt so much better.

"How about I take you out tomorrow night for something to eat, just the two of us"

Liz gave him a slight smirk and she narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Is this your way of asking me out like dating?"

"Yep"

Liz stood and turned towards him and gave him a curtsy.

"Then good sir I will accept"

Leonardo rose and bowed back at her as they pretended to be posh. He offered her his arm and she took it as he led her to her room. Liz rested her head on his shoulder as they walked and when they were outside her room she simply kissed him again.

"I thank you good sir and will see you tomorrow"

She shut her door and Leo went in to his room to rest.

Lizzie couldn't shake her love struck feeling that she constantly had for Leo, it must have come from how determined she saw Leonardo was to protect her when she was in trouble. Lizzie walked over to the pile of old newspapers and looked through them, they were all about the fire and those that were lost. But now she knew it was the shredder that was behind it all and she felt at ease that she wasn't going to be running from purple dragons anymore because she was caught snooping. Liz decided to pin the one with the picture of her mother in it on her wall and she put the others away as there was no need for them anymore her search was over.

Lizzie collapsed on to her bed feeling tired but relaxed, she felt at home but she wondered about her dad whether she should go to him and tell him the truth, if she did she would have to go alone or one of the turtles would go with her to ensure her safety. But her dad didn't believe her either about it not being an accident so why would he believe her now? She slowly closed her eyes and let sleep consume her.

The next morning she was up early she had made her own breakfast and went to the dojo to train by herself before the others woke. If anything she wanted to be prepared for when they would face the shredder so that she could avenge her mother death but she was smart she wasn't going to go run off like she did last night, she knew that if she was going to face the evil tin can it would be with the turtles, with Leo.

She threw punched and kicks doing some evasive manoeuvres as well so that she would stay on top of her feet.

"You want to join me or watch me" she sensed Leonardo's presence in the room

"How did you know…"

"I just felt your presence"

He smiled at her remark before taking out his katana from their sheaths and putting them down next to her katana beside the tree. He stood opposite her and both bowed before running at each other and sparring. She threw several punches at him but he evaded and jumped up and then threw a kick but she grabbed his foot and span him around using his weigh against him. He laid on the floor and then noticed her coming at him so knelt up and span his leg around tripping her up, he jumped on top of her pinning her down. She saw that she was beaten but tried an old tack tick.

They both looked at each other then Lizzie kissed Leo he melted at her touch but before he could enjoy it she shifted her weigh and push him off of her and down so that she now had him pinned. Leo looked quite surprised at her actions.

"Sorry but I win"

They both laughed at each other before Liz stood and helped him up.

"I'm pretty sure on the battle field the opponent isn't going to kiss me"

"How do you know Leo? They will do it to distract you, me I did it to distract you and because I love you"

Lizzie walked to their katana and picked all of them up she slid Leo his double katana.

"True but who would want to kiss me, other than you."

"Karai"

Liz unsheathed her katana and positioned herself for more sparring but with weapons this time. Leo put one of his in the sheath and held the other out.

"What are you talking about?"

Just as she was about to reply she ran at him and they clashed weapons both going on the offensive and defensive.

"Come on Leo you saw her last night she was jealous. She didn't like how protective you were being"

It took a while for him to catch on but he got it. What Lizzie was saying was true Karai really didn't like how protective of Liz he was and she held Lizzie at point with her katana after they were kissing and had confessed that they had feelings for one another.

"Fine your right, but that's probably because I've focused my attention on her for while trying to convince her that splinter is her father"

"Leo she won't accept the truth, not until shredder confesses or makes it seem that he does not care for her"

Leo swiped at Liz striking her while she defended herself before she knew it Leo flipped over her head and then attacked from behind but she was fast and defended herself again. He managed to use his strength to eventually hit her katana away from her so that she was defenceless.

"Looks like I win"

They gave each other a big grin, Leo picked up her katana and handed it to her.

"How about a daily challenge, today it was a draw"

"You got it"

They shook hands but before they realised Leo pulled her in for a kiss. It lasted quite a while up to the point that splinter let his presence be known.

"Sorry sensei"

Splinter walked over to both of them who had bowed at him, he chuckled as they were quite embarrassed.

"No need to apologise, I remember when I told me tanshen how I felt about her, it is a moment I will never forget"

Splinter seemed to be in his own little world reliving memories but he was drawn back by the sound of Leo sheathing his katana.

"You both fight well against each other but there is something is see in your fighting skills that allows for great team work"

Lizzie and Leo stared at one another trying to make sense of what the rat was saying.

"Today in training you two will fight against the others"

"Wait I'm joining in your training sessions" Liz questioned

She was happy at the sound of it.

"I am grateful that I will be learning under your teachings master splinter"

He walked away from the two and they were left alone. Leo was over joyed that she would be joining them, he picked her up and span her around in circles as they laughed. After he put her down they took each other's hand and went towards the kitchen as by the smell they could tell that the others had woken up.

"So you feel up to fighting my brothers after fighting me?"

"Sure I think I prefer fighting with you Leo than against you"

When they entered the kitchen master splinter had prepared himself tea and placed it and a teapot on a tray and walked back to the dojo. Mikey was cooking breakfast as usual and Raph was sat down drinking some coffee when he spotted Leo and Liz holding hands.

"Morning love birds, hope you're ready to face us in training today. Splinter told us" he finished

Leo sat next to his brother while Liz made two coffees for herself and Leo.

"Oh we are, just you wait Raph you're going down"

"So how come splinter decided that Lizzie joins our training now?"

"I don't know he saw us sparing and when we were done he said that he saw that we would work well together" said Liz

"Maybe coz you're going out"

"No I don't think it's that Raph"

Liz sat next to Leo and gave him his coffee. Mikey had made breakfast for his brothers and put them down ready to eat. Eventually Donnie came out from his lab having started his work on Lizzie's blood sample. He had not discovered anything yet but reassured Liz that if he did he would straight away tell her.

"Lizzie how long have you been able to sense a person's presence?"

"I don't know, since I was a child. You don't think that it's one of my abilities do you?"

"Could be. Or it came from your ninjutsu training but you didn't start when you were a child and many master spend years trying to develop the ability" explained Donnie

Liz stood and walked out of the kitchen leaving the turtles puzzled. Leo understood that it must be hard for her but he didn't think she would find it this hard to accept who she was. He decided to abandon his breakfast and went after her. She was sat on the couch with her eyes closed obviously in deep thought. He knelt by her feet.

"Are you okay Liz?"

"Yeah, it's just I don't feel like me anymore. I'm different, I'm not human"

"You're one of a kind"

Liz smiled at his sweetness she knew that he was trying to make her feel better and she had to admit it was working but the feeling would come back again soon enough.


	7. Chapter 7

**TMNT: Family**

 **Chapter 7**

Lizzie had waited for the brothers to eat their breakfast before going to the dojo to join them in their morning training session with master splinter. First they kneeled before them as he discussed ninjutsu. Splinter then suggested that the guys needed to work on their team work more so as he had said earlier he paired me up with Leo while he told the others that they had to work together. Of course I anticipated their responses.

"But we have an advantage sensei" said Don

"It's not a fair fight" exclaimed Mikey

"They have no chance sensei" laughed Raph

Liz smiled at Leo and he returned it.

"On the contrary my sons although you outnumber them their combined skills and communication through teamwork can easily over power you"

It was written all over Raphael's face that he didn't believe master splinter about Elizabeth's and Leonardo's abilities but he was always over confident when it came to his training with his brothers. Leo and Liz unsheathed their katana's and bowed down to the other's they did the same and we all stood in our stances ready for splinter to give the command.

"Hajime!" he shouted

At once Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo charged at them and Liz and Leo did the same. Mikey began to tease them as he dodged Leo's attacks and spun his nun chucks around. Raph immediately went to Lizzie and threw hard attacks at her while Donatello waited for his moment. Leo knew his brothers strategy the simple divide and conquer but he was more worried about whether Lizzie could fight both Raph and Donnie on her own. Eventually Leo was able to hit Mikey in the shoulder which had pushed him back so he raised his katana's and ran at his little brother bringing them quickly only for Mikey to block with one of his nun chuck chains. That's when Mikey dropped to the floor and his fully flexed leg around to knock Leo to the floor but He had learned well and back rolled before knelling down. He saw his brother jump and stretch his leg out again for a kick but Leo quickly grabbed the leg and spun him around releasing him to fly back against a wall. Mikey rubbed the back of his head he was down but was definitely not out, not just yet anyway.

Lizzie on the other hand was evading Raphael's hard attacks, she could see that he wanted to make a point so she decided to use that against him. She managed to punch and kick him after she blocked his sais attack, Liz then kicked him in the plastron which made him stammer back at which she jumped and stroked with her katana that knocked both of Raphael's sais out of his hands. When they dropped to the floor she bent to pick one up and kicked the other away so that Raph wouldn't be able to use it. Donnie then ran at her spinning his bo staff in his hands and finally swinging at her horizontally which she blocked with both weapons but he landed a kick near her head which made her fall to the floor. Don then swung at her again that she failed to block but then forward rolled away her weapons now on the floor behind Donatello that was now standing in front of her and Raphael that was behind her they nodded at each other that she noticed, almost at once they began to run around her keeping her enclosed in a circle. Lizzie tried to see how Leo was doing and could only make out Mikey being his annoying self while being hit from time to time.

Lizzie was patient as she saw that both of the turtles were trying to put her off with their constant circling, so she closed her eyes knowing that any attempt to escape would fail. The turtles then jumped towards her with their hard attacks but Lizzie simply jumped away and let both of them crash in to each other and fall to the floor. Liz looked towards Leo who had hit Mikey with the handle of once of his katana's, as the other was on the floor on the other side of the room, and he fell to floor. Leo walked towards Liz and gave her a big grin but the three weren't finished yet when they all stood and approached the two standing back to back in the middle surrounded by them.

Waiting for the three to attack Leo and Lizzie held each other's hand as they circled as well making sure that they saw each other the brother on the outside. Suddenly without warning they all ran towards them, quickly Leo turned to Liz who knew immediately what he was thinking and nodded to him as he grabbed her arm and shirt and swung her around in a circle. Lizzie started kicking her legs vigorously as she felt them collide with the plastrons of the three. Leo set her back on to the ground as they had seen that they had won and gave each other a high five but not before Lizzie gave him a little kiss before the others managed to stand again.

"Yamae!"

They all bowed to one another and knelled before their sensei again.

"Well done Elizabeth and Leonardo your skills and ability to work together allowed for victory over being outnumbered" then splinter turned towards Raph "You see Raphael that not all unfair fights are already won. That will be all for today"

Splinter bowed before exiting to his room. The five waited until he was gone to stand and collect their weapons, which had been disarmed during the fight, and place them on the weapons wall but Lizzie decided to take her katana with her as she wanted to do more research about the ancient symbols.

As per usual Mikey placed himself in front of the television memorizing himself with the cartoons that he watches. While Donnie went to his lab to do more research on Lizzie's blood. As Liz was sat in the middle of the lounging area surrounded by books and notes of the ancient inscriptions scattered around her, she tried to concentrate but she couldn't as she heard Leo and Raph going at it from behind her.

"What's your problem Raph"

"My problem is that you think that you think you're all great now that you got a girlfriend and how you both over powered us in training"

"I don't think I'm all great and Elizabeth is well…"

Leo stammered and blushed as he knew that Lizzie was watching them, Raph just stared at his older brother making a fool of himself

"Whatever"

Raph gave up waiting for Leo to spit the words out so he walked right past Leo to his punch bag and began letting out his frustration on it. While Leo gave up trying to talk and smiled as he saw how Lizzie was trying to concentrate so he went over and sat with her, once he was seated her began looking over her notes and the inscriptions only to notice a minute later that she was staring at him.

"What?"

"I'm what Leo" she giggled

"Well… You are my girlfriend but I just…"

"Didn't like Raph using me as an excuse?"

"Yeah… hey you're doing this on purpose"

"Maybe, maybe not" she smiled

Leo helped Lizzie anyway he could to translate the writing, he was only too happy to do so as Japan always fascinated him especially it being the home of their master. Liz started searching on her laptop for anything that could help while she gave Leo and book to flick through for anything that could be useful to her research.

" _He can't leave her alone for a minute"_

Lizzie looked towards Raph and then Leo noticing that Leo had not bothered to start up another argument over what they just heard Raph say but Leo seemed to act as though he had not heard it.

" _He just sucks up to her like he does with master splinter"_

"Okay Raph can you just lay off"

He had stopped punching when she had said that and Leo had turned away from the book to her wondering what she was on about as the room was silent beforehand except for Mikey's cartoons. Raph was about to say something when she cut him off as she saw that her laptop had found something, but she wasted no time as she went straight to her room and grabbed a bag with her phone, money and dagger in and a jacket before heading out.

"I just gotta go to the book store I'll be back" she waved

The brothers were left stunned at what had just happened, Leo took a look at the laptop that had information about ancient Japan in a large book. He thought that perhaps he should go after her but didn't want to make it look as though he was stalking her so he stayed.

After about 10 minutes of silence Don poked his head in and asked everyone to come in to his lab. As they gathered Donnie began to explain what he had found in Lizzie's blood.

"So when I enhanced the image I saw that her cells are more active than that of a normal person, her molecular structure is complex…"

Raph then stopped Donnie before her carried on.

"How about you start talking English"

"Her cells are more sensitive so she is more aware that is how she sensed us during training when we could have easily taken her Raph" explained Don

"And she sensed me when I entered the dojo during her meditation"

"So she has a spider sense" laughed Mikey

The others stared at him blankly

"You know 'my spider sense is tingling" he explained

"Yes Mikey we get it"

"He's right, she could sense people and their intentions from according to my calculations around… 2 miles away"

On the surface Lizzie was searching in the book shop for the right book, she knew what she was after but struggled to find it, only when her named was called out did she finally find it behind a load of dusty books that don't look as though they have been touched.

"Hey Liz, where've you been?"

She looked up to see Emma with a bunch of books in her hand.

"Hey Emma, I've just been busy that's all"

"Yeah right, last we all saw of you you had a broken arm and was still trying to get yourself killed"

"Well my arm is better and so am I"

"What does that mean, you haven't turned up for school in ages, you haven't spoken to us as often and now you're all interested in Japan"

Emma studied the book her friend was holding as she was waiting for an answer.

"I've just got a lot on my plate"

" _I bet this has something to do with those friends she said she was staying with"_

"Why are you bringing them in to this? You don't even know them" asked Liz

"Who are you talking about Lizzie?"

Liz stared blankly as she looked around the shop at the man behind the counter.

" _Quiet again as usual. I really got to get a better job"_

She then looked back at her friend who now had a worried looked on her face but Liz would bet anything that she was more scared than she was.

" _She is being really weird"_

This time Liz didn't say anything but looked at Emma and her eyes grew wider when she did not see her lips move. She took no time it carrying on the conversation as she sped to the counter and paid for the book.

"Sorry Emma, I'll text you when I'm coming back to school"

With that Lizzie ran out of the store not letting Emma reply, she had to get back to the lair as quickly as possible so she ran down the street when she felt something and stopped she did not know what it was but her gut instinct told her to stay out of sight so she ducked in to an alley in the shadows for a moment and noticed several foot bots jumping over the roof tops above her.

"Foot bots" she whispered

When she was sure they were gone she slipped down the nearest manhole she could find where no one would see her and ran all the way back to the lair with the book in hand.


	8. Chapter 8

**TMNT: Family**

 **Chapter 8**

Lizzie was carefully stepping through the sewer, she had a strange feeling that the foot bots were not only on the rooftops but were underground as well. She decided it was better to wait until she was sure they were gone instead of risking it and leading them back to the lair. As Liz stepped around a corner she could hear fast footsteps approaching behind her so she ran ahead and just as she came to a junction and hide the foot bots ran right by her like they were following her the whole time.

"It's too dangerous down here, I'll never get to the lair at this rate" she whispered

About 5 minutes had passed when Liz emerged from her hiding place and back tracked herself all the way to the ladder and the manhole. When she eventually climbed safely to the surface again she crouched behind a dumpster and took out her phone, immediately she dialled Leonardo's number and waited for him to answer but there was no answer. Lizzie tried calling Raph but again no answer.

"Really… What's the point of a phone if you don't answer?"

Lizzie knew she couldn't hide behind the dumpster forever, she had to keep moving but where. There was one place she knew she could go that she was sure was the worst place she could think of but she couldn't put any of her friends in danger but she had to go so there was no getting out of it. The brunette emerged from the alley and joined the crowd that was all around the city on their day to day routine, as she was walking down her head began to throb as though it were trying to tell her something. Without giving away her position she peered up and noticed Karai standing on a rooftop overlooking the city, she had two foot bots beside her making sure that no one sneek attacked them obviously.

Sooner or later Karai would see Liz and she would be in serious trouble but she just had to reach the next alley before she could hide herself again. Liz seemed to have held her breath as she released it slowly, her cheeks went red and her head gave way to the beads of sweat that were rolling down the side of her face. Trying to look normal and that you fit in had never been so hard for her until now, when she finally reached the alley she immediately climbed up the fire escape to the fifth floor and went inside the window. Once in Lizzie shut the curtains and kept the light turned off so as not to draw attention, she walked to the door where light seemed to seep through from the other room and put the book down on the floor.

By the door Lizzie heard the television roaring as a football match was on and the smell of alcohol and cigarettes incinerated her nose, it disgusted her know that she had once called this place home but no longer and she was glad of that.

"Should I go see him? He deserves to know about mum but he might not listen"

Suddenly her head throbbed again and then the window smashed as a foot bot had crashed through with another following behind. Liz wouldn't be surprised if her so called father came in shouting and blamed her for all this even if they were after her. The dark clothed bots didn't move their swords were drawn but defensively as though they were not going to attack her. Liz was about to question them when she finally understood when karai jumped in through the smashed window and stood behind them with a smug smile on her face.

"Sorry about the window but it was in my way"

"What do you want Karai?"

"It's not what I want it's what the shredder wants. And that would be you"

"Forget it. I won't work for the shredder, I won't hurt the turtles"

Karai didn't reply she knew all too well that Elizabeth would resist them, so she didn't bother arguing with her.

"Where's Leonardo? You'd think your boyfriend would protect you"

"You leave Leo out of this"

Lizzie lunged at her the foot bots took defensive position and swung their swords but Lizzie quickly skidded under them and knocked Karai off of her feet. She fell to the floor but quickly rose up and jumped at Liz, kicking her in the stomach. The final blow made Lizzie smash through the door, taking it off of its hinges, and smack in to the opposite wall. She slide down the wall and almost fell unconscious but she forced herself to stay awake.

Karai kneeled by her smiling as though she could not be touched.

"What is going on?

Karai stared at the rude man as he demanded to know what was going on in his apartment. Liz took her distraction as an opportune moment to strike so she pulled in her leg and lunged it at Karai pushing her away from her which made her push the foot bots backwards. One fell out of the now large hole in the wall and toppled to the ground below while the other quickly picked itself up and jumped over Karai as she was recovering from her attack.

"So you wanna play?"

Lizzie jumped and began kicking with both legs at the bot she kept going until it reached the edge of the hole. When Liz landed back down she quickly lunged out of the way as she sensed Karai attacking from behind. Karai's eyes grew wider as she failed to stop herself from running in to the remaining foot bot and falling out of the hole together. Lizzie ran to the hole and leaned out to watch as Karai and the robot fell to the ground but just as they were about to hit the ground black smoke appeared and they had vanished. Liz knew that Karai would be back sooner rather than later and so went to see if her father was okay before she would leave. He looked rather shocked to see what she had just done.

"Are you okay?"

"You're not getting away with the damage you done to my place"

Liz rolled her eyes at his answer.

"Whatever"

Liz walked towards her former room and was about to jump on to the fire escape and leave when she felt her father's hand on her shoulder as he pushed her back and held a knife to her head.

"You left once, you're not leaving again"

Elizabeth didn't want to fight him. Although she didn't consider him family anymore she still did not want to hurt him but it was clear that her feelings were not shared. She placed her hand on the blade and pushed it away from her he seemed to let her do it as he saw blood trickling down her hand and arm.

"I wasn't going crazy dad, the fire was no accident. The shredder confessed that he killed mum"

He couldn't believe what he was hearing, in fact he was sure that his only daughter was insane but he couldn't escape the feeling that the name shredder was familiar.

Lizzie didn't wait for him to do anything, she took her hand away grabbed the book and leaped on to the fire escape.

In the lair Leo paced up and down the sitting area waiting for Lizzie to return. While the others were watching a movie together.

"Hey bro, give it a rest will you" said Raph

"But she should have been back by now and she isn't answering her phone. Our date is supposed to start in an hour"

"You worry too much Leo, she only went to the book shop" laughed Donnie

"Hey guys I'm home"

Leo looked round and saw a beautiful sight. Lizzie walked through the entrance waving her new Japanese book about ancient times in the air to show she had it and now she could figure out what the ancient inscriptions on the katana meant. Leo went weak at the knees at seeing her and his heart ached at how it had been rapidly beating waiting for her to return. Instantly Leo walked to her and gave her a big hug of relief.

"Where have you been? I was worried"

"I went to the book shop and… wait why am I answering questions? Why didn't you or Raph answer your phones?"

Leo blushed as he was to blame for not having his T-phone on him at the time as well as Raph.

"Sorry Lizzie but we were in the lab and we left our T-phones in here"

She just gave him an unimpressed stare before smiling at him he returned it and held her hand but she drew her hand away at his touch. Leo looked at his hand and noticed blood, immediately he took her hand and analysed it.

"You're bleeding. What happened?"

"On my way back I noticed foot bots so I hid but they were in the sewers so I went above ground to hide but Karai found me and"

"Karai did this"

Leo began to get frustrated he thought he had taught Karai a lesson the last time they encountered each other but obviously not.

"Leo it's okay, I defeated her and two foot bots but dad didn't like me using his home as a battle ground"

The others had suddenly paused their movie and turned around to face Lizzie.

"You went to see your father?" asked Raph

"No, I hid there. It was the only place I could think of that wouldn't endanger my friends and as you can see dad isn't in any danger"

"Your dad did that" questioned Mikey

"Technically it was me standing up to him and telling him that I wasn't cazy"

"Did he believe you?"

"I actually don't know and don't care. Any way I will go get cleaned up and then me and you can go out"

Leo and Liz drew closer to each other before realising that they were in the company of the others and so went their separate ways to prepare. Mikey went to the kitchen to get himself some more popcorn while Don played the movie again. Raph on the other hand was going to his bedroom to sleep when he walked past Leo's room he peeked in and saw his older brother wearing a black bow tie.

"You're going all out for this date aren't you fearless leader" he laughed

"I just want it to go swimmingly"

"Then be yourself, not a rich posh guy"

Raph then left and Leo was left on his own. He decided Raph was right and took the bow tie off, he sheathed his katana and went towards Lizzie's room. He knocked on the door and about a minute later was greeted by her in a sky blue dress with short black boots. Her hair was brushed so that it waved around her shoulders. Leo took particular notice to her sparkling eyes that glistened in the light, he was lost for words to describe how pretty she was.

"Leo?"

"Sorry it's just you're so beautiful"

She blushed and gave him a little peck before taking his arm that he had offered.

"And you are very handsome"

They walked to the entrance and saw everyone looking at them.

"Enjoy yourselves"

Leo and Liz waved them off as they exited the lair, he carried her along the sewer to the nearest ladder where she held on to his shell so that she would not get her dress dirty. Once on the surface Leo carried her bridal style along the rooftops until they arrived at their destination. He had covered her eyes to keep the activities of their date a surprise.

"Come on Leo, What are we doing?"

He finally let her see where they were and she was amazed that Leo was able to do this for her.

"Mr Murikami's"

Both entered and were greeted by the chef himself who told them to sit down at a prepared table with lit candles and drinks. After about 20 minutes a shared dish of pizza gyoza was served to them and each fed the other the delicious dumplings that Murikami had made. The date was mainly filled with laughter and talking as well as the occasional staring in to each other's eyes.

"Thank you Leo, this has been so great"

"Same time tomorrow?"

"Of course"

They held each other's hands across the table, Lizzie's hand now bandaged from her cut, as they talked all the way in to the night and left for home quite late.


	9. Chapter 9

**TMNT: Family**

 **Chapter 9**

 **Thank you everyone for your reviews and support, I hope that you continue to do so and I hope you enjoy reading. As I am doing with my other fic I will happily take any plot requests by anyone if I like them and I will give that person a shout out at the beginning of a new chapter. All you have to do is pm me, thank you.**

It was late morning in the lair and everyone slowly emerged from the dojo after their morning training session with sensei, Mikey immediately ran out to the TV hoping to get first dibs on the program to watch and of course it would be his favourite cartoon. Raph was following his younger brother to the sitting area so that he could steal the TV remote away from him and turn to a decent program, Donnie had asked Lizzie to come in to her lab so that he could tell her about what he had discovered from her blood sample but she was nervous. Liz was eager to know what she could do but she was scared that she was dangerous or could possibly hurt someone.

Leonardo watched as his braniac brother lead his girlfriend in to the lab while he was left on his own, he stared at the others fighting over the television again but then his thoughts turned to last night when he was at piece on his date with Lizzie, and he loved how he could be himself around her. It made him feel warm inside and he felt complete when she was with him. Leo did worry about her going out alone especially when Karai would stop at nothing to get what she wants and right now it was Elizabeth, He wanted to protect her but the shredder was dangerous and even he and his brothers found it hard to go against him so he could not imagine what would happen to Liz if she refused the metal tin can. Leo wanted to be there for her but he feared that he could not always be there although he would stop at nothing to make sure she was safe.

Immediately when he heard Raph and Mikey running around, because Raph wanted hit the youngest for being so annoying, he went straight to lab so that he could be there and then for her when she heard what Donnie had to say. As he entered he closed the doors behind him and stood next to his brother who had just begun speaking.

"Lizzie you have remarkable cells, their activity is extordinary and…"

"Less chit chat please Don" said Leo

"Sorry, anyway your body is more sensitive to your surroundings this gives you the ability to sense things like yesterday during training you sensed me and Raph as we attacked you. If it was anyone else we could have easily won but we didn't"

"And you sensed me in the dojo during your meditation too"

Liz didn't know what to say to them, she obviously had special abilities that could easily be a danger in the wrong hands.

"Liz your cells tell me of your sensitivity but it doesn't tell me anything else. If there is anything else that you can do I can't find it out by running tests and scans they will just reveal themselves in their own time"

Liz nodded taking in everything that the purple clad turtles was telling her, she could tell that he was trying to break it to her slowly but there was no way to do it sensitively.

"Actually I think another is starting to surface Donnie"

"What do you mean?" Leo asked as he walked over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder in comfort

"When I was at the book store I ran in to one of my friends and I think I could hear her thoughts because I heard her say something but when I replied she said that she hadn't said anything"

Donnie listened intently to her as she explained what had happened at the book store the previous day.

"And when I concentrated on the guy behind the counter I could hear his thoughts too"

"You can read minds?"

"Telepathy"

Leo rolled his eyes at Donatello being so precise on his terms. Before anything else could be said Don walked off to the corner of his lab and started rummaging around for something. Leo and Liz stared at one another secretly asking each other what he was doing but neither knew.

"Donnie what are you doing?"

"When we were kids I made a helmet that measured brain waves and I never got rid of it, if I tweak it a bit I'm sure I can use it so that we can see Lizzie's brain activity when she tries to read minds. In the meantime Liz you need to practice using your powers but don't tire them"

Lizzie didn't stick around after he had finished she immediately went out to the sitting area and surrounded herself with her research. She opened her new book and looked up the ancient Japanese language. Around her were sketches of the inscriptions that were on her katana and pages of information that she had printed out to help her with her research.

"What ya doin girl?" shouted Mikey

Liz jumped as Mikey had scared her by creeping up behind her.

"Reading ancient Japanese"

"But sensei told us that no one spoke the ancient language now"

"No Mikey, sensei told us very few speak it" spoke Leo

"I'm not fluent in it but I can make some of it out"

Mikey then lost interest in the conversation and went immediately to the kitchen to make some lunch. Leo however stood in front of Liz stopping her from continuing research.

"Do you mind?"

"Nope" he smiled

She stood in front of him and smiled back, squinting her eyes at him playfully as she knew he was trying to distract her.

"Why don't we have a lunch date?"

"Because what are we going to do that doesn't involve you being seen by anyone"

"Good point"

Liz edged closer to him closing the gap slowly as he stared at her lost in his train of thoughts about her. She leaned her head in closer and then he finally closed the gap by connecting their lips. Neither of them broke the kiss as they passionately stood and returned the kiss. Liz wrapped her arms around him while he rose his arms to hold her closer to him. She loved how his strong arms were around her, she felt so protected, so safe in his arms and yet she didn't want to stop. If anything neither of them wanted this to end even when Mikey re-entered the room asking if they wanted any lunch they did not stop.

Their breathing increased as their hearts beat faster in their chests, sooner or later they were going to drop to the floor in exhaustion from how fast it was beating and occasionally it would skip a beat.

Mikey gave up on waiting for them to finish and so went looking for his other brothers to ask them as well. Just as he left Leo and Liz broke away and then ended up standing in silence both drawn in a hug where they both felt comfortable. Right there and then all they could think about was each other and nothing was ever going to interrupt their thoughts.

 _You are so beautiful. I will never let anyone hurt you._

"Why thank you Leonardo"

It took a moment before Leo caught on and remembered her telepathy

"Are you enjoying reading my thoughts?"

"Well Don did say to practice"

Raph emerged from his room with Mikey in tow as they walked towards the kitchen.

"Finally finished have we love birds" asked Mikey

Raph smirked at Mikey's remark and just ignored how awkwardly close his brother and friend were to each other, this only made them smile at how awkward they find it. Don then came from his lab and agreed to sit with the others for lunch and of course Mikey had made pizza so no one was going to miss out on it unless Mikey ate it all first. They all sat and gathered around a plate with a slice pizza on it and a board with the rest of the homemade pizza in the centre for all to reach. Silence engulfed the room as they savoured the exquisite taste of the pizza. The stringy cheese and spicy pepperoni's overpowered their taste buds.

Master splinter entered the kitchen in the middle of them eating and went over to the kettle where he kept his tea pot and leaves to make his special blend of tea.

"My sons, training is cancelled for tomorrow morning"

"Yes" they whispered in unison

"Instead you will attend an hour of meditation"

At once they all made sad noises where they were disappointed that they had to meditate instead of train.

"So Donnie how's your knew experiment going?" asked Liz

"I am ready for you now, all I need is you connected to the mind scanner and a subject for you read their mind"

"Wait you can read minds?"

"Boy are you behind bro, but at least you volunteered"

Raph was about to complain but he realised he had nothing better to do so he might as well help Don with whatever he was doing to understand Liz's abilities.

"We should call April down here and see whose powers are better" suggested Mikey

"Don't be stupid"

Raph hit his brother as he tried to finish his pizza.

"Who's April?"

The guys had completely forgot that April and Liz had not met yet since they had not seen April since Liz had come to live with them.

"April is our friend, she was the first human we met and we saved her from the krang, she actually sort of has the same story as you but we aren't completely sure about April yet" explained Leo

"Krang?"

No one else replied Leo only gave her is 'I'll tell you later' look. While the others had finished eating splinter returned to the dojo for his afternoon tea and Mikey decided that watching Donatello's experiment might be fun so he followed the others to the lab where Liz sat on Don's chair behind the desk and Leo, Raph and Mikey stood on the opposite side. Liz took a quick glance at Leo, worried that something might go wrong before Donnie had placed the weird looking helmet on her head carefully adjusting it to her head and making sure that the cables and wires were attached properly to the helmet and the computer on his desk. It took a while and everyone was waiting patiently but Raphael who was slowly losing his patience.

Once Don was done he turned the machine on and they all heard a series of beeps before the genius turtles came around to his brothers and placed another chair directly in front of Liz.

"Raph sit"

Don then went back beside Liz to make sure that throughout the experiment everything was going smoothly and so he could collect data on his computer.

"I'm not being anyone's lab rat"

He folded his arms and faced away from his brother, Liz was starting to lose her patience as she wanted this little experiment to be over as soon as possible. She frowned at Raphael but he didn't see her as he was facing away from her but then he turned around and sat down like he had been forced to do so against his will.

"I thought you weren't being a lab rat?" asked Mikey

"I don't" raph argued

"Then why are you sitting down?" questioned Leo

Raph had then noticed that he was sat where he didn't want to be sat.

"How did I get here?"

He then looked towards his older brother to him for putting him there but Leo shrugged his shoulders giving him the signal that it wasn't him or any of them for that matter. Each of them where looking around when Lizzie suddenly broke the silence.

"I think it was me"

"How?"

"I don't know, I wanted this to be done quickly so I just thought of that while looking at Raph and suddenly he moved and sat down and…" Don cut her off and finished her sentence.

"And he had no memory of doing it because it wasn't him that wanted to sit down, to him it was as if nothing had changed like he blacked out for a second while Elizabeth was in control"

Liz was about to stand and vacate the lab now getting a little freaked and also fearing that she might unintentionally hurt one of them without even knowing and that was the last thing that she wanted to do, but Don stopped her and told her to read Raphael's thoughts.

Liz stared at the hot head concentrating on what she wanted to do in her mind, keeping herself relaxed so that she wouldn't give herself a massive headache.

 _This is stupid, I can't believe I am actually helping_

Lizzie gasped and smiled they all look at her wondering what she had heard but Raph knew and felt kind of embarrassed especially seeing as it had worked, he knew that she was about to say something.

 _Great now Leo is going to give me a hard time_

"Liz what did you hear?"

"Raph…" she stuttered thinking for a quick moment "Was thinking about going to the next level with his weight lifting"

Leo, Don and Mikey turned to raph and all he did was nod as he got that Lizzie heard that too and covered it up for him. Both smiled to each other from opposite sides of the desk.

"Her brain activity is phenomenal, she is definitely reading minds and it stands to reason that if you can read them then you should be able to control them."

"oo me next" Mikey pushed Raph away and sat on the chair "Read my mind"

Lizzie was surprised as most people would take in what they learned and ask her to stay out of their heads.

 _Pizza with pepperoni, chilli's and mushrooms_

"Ew Mikey, pepperoni and mushrooms are fine but chilli's on a pizza too"

"Who ever doubted that he would be thinking about pizza" said Don

Donatello took his computer and followed Mikey out to the sitting area to look over the data. While Liz was left with a small headache and a little shaken that her abilities were growing a lot quicker that she had wanted.

"Don't worry Liz, you'll get better at using them"

"I don't want to Leo, I don't want them"

She rushed out and went straight to her bedroom, she just wanted to be left in piece for a while so she could think without anyone else being in her mind. Of course that was going to be hard she always thought about Leo and how much she loved him but at the moment she didn't mind that as long as she wasn't reading his thoughts. Raph and Leo emerged from the lab and were given a glance from Don.

"She'll get over it in time, just don't try and talk to her in your mind"

"Wait we can have mind conversations?" Mikey laughed

"Well she is a telepath so yeah and when she is strong enough she could probably hold the ability to talk to all of us using her mind as a communicator"

Mikey gave his older brother a blank look.

"We could probably talk to each other if she allows it because we will be using her to do it"

Elizabeth was too far away to hear what was being said but in her mind she knew what was going on. She was laying on her bed eyes closed and all she could her in her mind where the thoughts of all four turtles, she didn't like that she could sense let alone read or even talk in their minds. After all this time Liz wanted to know what had happened to her mother, the truth, but now everything was coming out. It was something that she knew Donatello was right about that she would get better and probably come to accept the gifts she has over time but how long would it take? The shredder still wanted her and now she completely understood why. She could hardly imagine the damage she could do if she put her mind to it but that was the last thing that she wanted. If anything Liz wanted to use her powers to help people, to help the turtles and even possibly help her father.

She didn't want to do anything because of free will but Liz knew her father was never going to ask for help and it was the only way that she knew that would guarantee he would change and be the dad that she had always wanted. But Liz worried would that be selfish of her to change someone because she didn't like who they were now. Liz could only argue that her father was never like this before her mother was murdered and so she would only being bring back the dad she originally knew.

Slowly Liz started to fall asleep her subconscious taking over which is what she felt she needed after her mind had been stretched a lot further than it had ever been stretched before.

 _Elizabeth stood on top of a rooftop overlooking the city. She heard the beeps of angry people in cars and the sound of footsteps walking down the street beneath her. Children laughing, playing together without a care in the world and the sky was as blue as New York had ever seen it. Behind her were the turtles training except for Leo who was standing right next to her holding her hand. Then suddenly she got a huge headache, her eyes closed, to Liz it felt as though her head was about to explode. She felt the ground under her feet shake slightly, she did not want to open her eyes but she had no choice as they slowly crept open she no longer saw the peaceful day she was initially living in. the sky was dark with thick storm clouds and there was no one on the streets. The beeps of cars were always followed by some sort of horrible crash and an explosion, Liz heard a woman crying out for help as she saw six purple dragons surrounding the poor lady she wanted to help but Lizzie couldn't move there was nothing keeping her there yet she struggled to move her legs. She looked round and no longer saw the turtles training but lying on the floor, Leo the closest to her she called for them but there was no answer so she tried calling them in their heads but still nothing. There was nothing left she didn't want to believe it but they were dead, the while city was ruined and Lizzie got the feeling that it was all her doing._

Lizzie woke disturbed from what she thought was nice, calm and peaceful slumber but it somehow turned horrible and scary she couldn't imagine a world like that, a world without the guys. She felt so at home with them and she didn't want to leave them ever. She saw that she was sweating so she decided to freshen up as she looked at the time and noticed that she had been sleeping for a while and it was coming up to the time that she had agreed to go out with Leonardo again but once again she had no idea what Leo was planning. As Lizzie was letting the warmth and cleanness of the water wash over her and soak away her nightmare she felt relaxed again and was getting excited for her date with Leo.

She chose to wear a dark purple dress this time with black flat shoes, she took wore a black cardigan to keep her warm throughout the night. As she walked in to the main room she saw Leo was waiting for her but she didn't see the others around and she knew they weren't in their rooms as she couldn't sense that they were there.

"Leo what's going on?"

He turned to see her and he was lost for words, he began to melt at how beautiful she was he loved how her long brown hair curled like waves around her face and her dress suited her perfectly it was something that made him weak at the knees as it took him a while to reply to her question.

"It's a surprise, you look gorgeous"

"Thanks you're so sweet"

She smiled at him but was interrupted but a quick beep from Leo's T-phone. She frowned at it for interrupting the moment but was curious at what her boyfriend was planning. Leo didn't bother to explain the beep as he held his hand out and she immediately took it and he lead her out of the lair and on to the surface for their second date.

 **That's it for this chapter, don't worry Leo and Liz's date will be at the beginning of the next chapter when I post it. Thank you for reading and please review.**


	10. Chapter 10

**TMNT: Family**

 **Chapter 10**

The night was beautiful in the city it was late and there was very few people about. The moon was almost at its peak in the sky, it was so bright it was as though it was day time. If you looked closely you could make out the different craters that made the moon look old and rough. The stars twinkled in the night sky they were perfectly distributed around and if you had paid close attention you could probably make out the constellations such as Orion or Andromeda.

Jumping across the rooftops Leo carried Liz carefully, he didn't stop until they had reached their destination but Liz did not know where her blue bandana boyfriend was taking her. She did piece together that the others had some sort of role to play in it as she guessed that it was his brothers that had messaged him back at the lair before they had left for the date. She loved being carried by Leo, it made her feel comforted and protected. Elizabeth knew that nothing would happen if he was around. Leo would only lie to her to protect her but Lizzie trusted that he would tell her whatever she needed to know. Her thoughts came to a stop when she noticed that Leo had stopped running and jumping and had placed her down on the roof. She peered round her surroundings and saw a couple of blankets laid out with pillows and basket by the side with some extra folded blankets.

"Leo this is…"

He smiled at her loving how much she was happy about what he had arranged. Leo waited but she wasn't able to finish the sentence.

"I'm just lost for words, so you get the idea"

"Yeah well my bros helped a little and in return I told them to go to Murikarmi's for dinner"

"Well aren't you a nice big brother"

She moved in close to him and gave him a little kiss on the lips before sitting down on the blanket. Leo had chosen the perfect place, they were in a high place and the roof was really flat, the night was clear with no cloud in sight. Leo joined her and when he sat Lizzie scooted towards him being opened in to him arms for a comforting embrace that would last all night. They both gazed at the sky, the stars shinning down on them.

"Alright, I don't have telepathy so you'll have to tell me what you're thinking"

Lizzie laughed, she wanted to have fun with this but she chose to embrace the moment.

"I'm thinking that this has to one of the best nights ever, I don't want it to ever end"

"What's your best night?"

"When we both admitted how we felt, it wasn't the best situation but that night I felt so alive, so happy"

"Ha I was hoping that you almost died wasn't part of it"

There was a moment of silence where they stared at each other for a moment and then returned to their stargazing. Leo leaned over to the basket placed next to him and picked up a bowl of chocolate covered strawberries. Lizzie immediately spotted this and squinted her eyes.

"How did you know, that I love these?" she asked

"Intuition" Leo replied

The night was filled with laughs and talking and of course the occasional long kiss that they just gave in to it was something that neither of them would be able to hold back. However the chocolate covered strawberries didn't last long before they knew it there was one left at the bottom of the bowl.

Elizabeth was about to take the last one but Leo moved them away from her. She tried again but it was useless she was going to have to have to go along with Leo's little game. When she finally gave up she broke the long hug and pushed him down, trying to pin him down so that she could get the strawberry in his hand. They were both laughing hysterically.

"Give me the strawberry"

"No it's mine"

Leo then tried to eat it himself, keeping it well away from Liz. Finally Liz gave in but before he could eat it himself, she focussed on Leo and what she wanted him to do and before she knew it Leo had stopped and was feeding her the strawberry. She grinned as she ate it then suddenly Leo realised what was going on as if he hadn't before. His eyes widened at her grinning and eating at the same time.

"That's not fair"

"We never said we were playing fairly"

Leo then began to grin back and then leaned in to kiss her but she drew away this time it was her game. He knew exactly what was going on so pushed her up and the down on to the ground now he was on top of her and she had no place to retreat to but Liz didn't bother fighting it this time she let it sink it. They both closed the gap and passionately kissed each other, their worlds were now intertwined and they both did not want to let go as things could not get any better.

When they broke they remained on their backs but just cuddled and returned to gazing up at the night sky.

"Lizzie, if you had the choice would you give up your powers?"

"I don't know, I mean I don't partically want them but I have them for a reason right, they were given to me"

"Everything happens for a reason"

"Yeah and I think that I should help people with them, maybe I need to start looking at them as a blessing rather than a curse"

"You think that we met for a reason?"

"Of course, without you Leo I wouldn't be really happy, I would still be out there almost killing myself to find out what really happened to my mum. I would be living with my dad still"

"And without you Liz I would still be insecure about myself and I wouldn't be as happy as I am now"

Lizzie was about to kiss her boyfriend again to reward him for his sweetness but she felt cold, shivers ran down her spine and the smile disappeared from her face. Leo noticed that the cheerful atmosphere had now faded and then stared at Liz in concern.

"Lizzie"

She turned to him looking scared

"Trouble" was all she said

Leo trusted her senses and immediately jumped up with his katana's drawn, he made sure that Liz was in his sights but he surveyed the perimeter to check for danger. When he returned to Liz he saw that her facial expression had only gotten worse. Leo decided to rely on his own senses that master splinter had him practice. Two minutes past and there was nothing.

"LEO!"

All of a sudden Leo jumped towards Lizzie, his arm extended, he pushed her down and shielded her with his shell, the only sign that something had happened was Leo groaning in pain. Lizzie looked behind Leo who was easing his pain to see a small dagger sticking out of his shell and at the edge of the rooftop was Karai smirking. Lizzie gasped she had not brought her katana or asked Leo to carry it for her however she did see Leo's double katana sheathed still she stood in front of Leo and took one of his katana, holding it out.

"Karai, you dare come here"

"Aw I'm sorry to disrupt your sweet moment"

"Why are you doing this? Can't you see the shredder is manipulating you?"

"The shredder is my father I will do what he asks"

"Karai listen, I used to think the same thing but my father only wanted to hurt me. He didn't care for me. He lost himself and so did I until I met Leo. Shredder doesn't care for you, he isn't your true father"

Karai had had enough of the therapy that she was getting, so she quickly threw a shruiken at Liz but she was able to deflect it with the katana.

"ENOUGH! It's time for a ninjustu crash course"

Karai ran at Liz and both clashed swords, this is when Liz thought that if there was a better moment to use her telepathy it was now. She dodge Karai's attacks and focused on here while evading any attacks that were thrown at her.

 _Shredder will have you_

Liz finally attacked Karai landing a kick and on her after pushing Karai's katana away but it was still in her hand. She then hit the katana out of karai's hand and kicked her back to the floor. She was about to recover but Liz held out the sword and held her in place.

"Karai you know the truth you just won't accept it. Your real name is Miwa and master Splinter is your real father. Hamato Yoshi"

 _Leo's dead_

Elizabeth didn't know what to do when she heard this she just froze on the spot and then she felt the chills again. Immediately she turned and saw Leo held captive, a foot bot had snuck up behind them and is now holding another dagger to his throat.

"Leo"

"Liz run"

"I'm not leaving you Leo"

She looked at the foot bot and wondered if she could take control of it because it wasn't alive. She stared at it hard and saw that its eyes turned from a red colour to a blue. She made the foot bot retract the dagger and disable itself by stabbing itself in the power core. Leo saw Karai was making a move as Liz was controlling the bot and he ran over to her and started to fight her. Karai defended herself as Leo unleashed his punches on her, he hated that Karai had interfered with his date and was trying once again to hurt Lizzie.

As Leo turned to avoid her attack she grasped the dagger still sticking out of his shell and yanked it out, he cried in pain as it came out, she then used the dagger to attack and as she did she slit his leg. This time Leo fell to the floor as it was too painful for him to stand. Karai lifted the dagger again and was about to strike but Lizzie used Leo's katana to knock it out of her hand.

"Leo"

Karai took Liz's distraction and kicked the katana away and then jumped at Liz. Liz was hit on her head badly, she fell to the floor unconscious. Leo tried to keep his bearings together but still couldn't stand, he saw Karai fatally kick Liz. His face showed a terrified expression as well as pain as he tried to stand, he finally got up blood trickling down his leg. Karai walked over to Leo smirking, she clicked her fingers and several foot bots appeared. They all stood in a straight line awaiting orders.

"Foot bots take the girl back to shredder"

Leo was about to collapse but he wanted to protest, he had to protect Liz although if she could hear him right now she would probably start complaining that she doesn't need protection.

"Karai leave Lizzie. Don't you hurt her"

Karai turned to face Leo and then punched his injured knee. He fell to the floor grasping his leg in pain.

"I won't kill you Leonardo that is for Elizabeth to do. But I will give you some advice: Let her go. It's obvious with the situations you always find yourself in, like this one, that it's not meant to be"

Karai left Leo laughing she walked to the edge of the roof and gave a quick look to Leo before jumping down and disappearing. Leo was now alone, in pain and bleeding. He felt that he had let Liz down. He wanted to lie there to bask in his failures but he knew if he didn't call for help he might bleed to death and then he would never be able save Lizzie or even see her again. If anything he had to see her again his heart would break if he could not be with her but to not see her again he would rather die. Leo took out his T-phone and rang up the number.

"How's the date Leo?" asked Raph

"Raph…He…Help"

Leo struggled to get the words out. He was too weak and too heartbroken to get the words out fully.

"Leo what's wrong?"

"Karai…Attacked…Need medical… Help."

"Don't worry bro we're on our way"

Raph hung up and Leo just put his phone down and stared at the sky, he wanted to remember the last part of the date before the foot got involved. He remembered fighting with Lizzie over the last chocolate covered strawberry, he remembered blacking out for a couple of seconds as she had made him feed her the strawberry. It was these things that made him smile and made him weak in a good way not in a way that made him almost die from bleeding. Leo was slowly slipping into unconsciousness thinking about his girlfriend but he was somehow awakened more by the sound of his brothers gathering around him asking him if he was alright or what had happened.

"Donnie do something"

"I am Raph, Mikey tie this around his leg. Make sure it's tight."

Don gave the younger brother a bandage and he tied it around Leonardo's injured leg making sure it was tight so that there was plenty of pressure on it to stop the bleeding.

"Okay Leo lean on us, we've gotta get you back to the lair for proper treatment"

Leo did as instructed, he wasn't going to argue he just wanted to heal quickly and get Lizzie back.

When they eventually made it back to the lair Leo was taken straight to the lab where he sat on the bench and allowed Donatello to take of the bandage and clean the wound so that he can dress it properly after stitching it. Leo was asked by Mikey a couple of times what had happened on the date and where Lizzie was but he didn't answer he was too busy going over what had happened in his mind. He went over how much he loved her although he felt that way towards Liz every day, he remembered kissing Elizabeth and talking. Both of them that night had said the night was perfect.

"Leonardo"

Leo finally snapped out of it when he heard his sensei calling him, he then noticed that Donnie had finished with his leg and had given him some pain killers.

"Leonardo, what happened my son?"

"Everything was fine, it was perfect we were happy and then Lizzie sensed something and someone threw a dagger at her so I blocked it with my shell" Leo then noticed that the dagger hole was taped up "Karai appeared and fought with Liz, Liz was winning but got distracted by me and Karai ended up kidnapping her"

"Oh Karai is gonna pay" grunted Raph

"Your dagger wound on your shell will heal in time Leo" informed Don

"I failed her. My guard was down and when she needed me I couldn't help her"

Splinter put his paw on Leo's shoulder and Leo looked up into his sensei's eyes

"You fought bravely my son. Elizabeth does not rely on you for protection, she relies on you for support and comfort and that is what she wants now. If there ever was a time that she needed you most it would be now and you my son putting down because you think you failed will not help her"

"Yeah bro, Karai didn't fight fairly. In a fair fight you would have won, don't put yourself down" encouraged Mikey

In his heart Leo knew that his family was right, he had to stay strong. Before he met Elizabeth he never would have imagined that just losing her to the shredder would put him down to rock bottom.


	11. Chapter 11

**TMNT: Family**

 **Chapter 11**

"LET ME OUTTA HERE! I KNOW YOU'RE THERE, YOU CAN'T MAKE ME YOUR SLAVE" Yelled Elizabeth at the top of her lungs

She waited for a moment wanting a reply but when nothing came she was about to start yelling again but she heard a familiar chuckle that frightened her slightly. He emerged from the shadows as if he had always been there listening to her pain of being taken and held captive.

"I won't make you Elizabeth, You will offer yourself to me. My daughter did an excellent job on bringing you here though I wish she had not been seen by that retched turtle"

"If you had any decency shredder, you would tell Karai the truth. If you ever cared about her"

"Karai is none of your concern. Tiger claw prep her for Baxter, Xever Bradford I have a mission for you"

The tin can man disappeared in to the shadows again as though they were his domain.

"So when are we going to bust in there" asked Raph

"Calm down Raph we have to formulated a plan first, if we run in screaming then we'll be turtle soup"

"Mikey did you call Casey?"

"Yeah he said he was gunna pick up April and meet us down here"

"Great"

"Erm Leo is it a good idea to get April involved?" Donatello questioned

"We only need them for lookouts, if something happens we're gunna want to know"

Donnie wasn't sure that their friends should get involved, Shredder was ruthless and if a rescue mission is what they were doing the less people that go the better. Plans were laid out of the rescue mission that they had carefully made that would allow them to sneak in, get Liz and get out. Of course they had anticipated that there would probably be complications like foot bots and Tiger claw guarding the place especially Lizzie. Shredder knew how close the turtles were with the brunette and so knew that they would eventually come to get her. Raph was beating up the training dummy getting ready for the fight ahead. He jolted when he heard Casey and April enter the lair prepared for what was going to happen although they did not know what the plan was for infiltration.

"What's up guys" shouted Casey

Donnie frowned at Casey but smiled when he saw April emerge from behind him.

"So what's the plan Donnie?" asked April

"Dudes we gotta get Lizzie outta shredders lair"

April and Casey stared blankly at the orange clad turtle they had no idea what was going on, they had previously thought that they were going to try and help Karai or end shredder but now thoughts changed.

"Lizzie?"

"Leo's girlfriend Elizabeth has been kidnapped by shredder to use her against us because the krang did something to her mum before she was born" explained Raph

The hot head approached Casey and gave him a fist bump. Attention was turned to Leo as he blushed at their human friends finding out he was in a relationship.

"When did this happen?"

"Not long ago"

"Okay and why weren't we told?" April pressured Don for information

He rubbed the back of his head and stammered at his words. Don then began to blush as he failed to come up with a good explanation, luckily his younger brother came to his rescue.

"Things been going on April. She is in the same boat as you except shredder wants to use her telepathy and that against us"

"Fine but how is shredder going to get her to obey him, she would never hurt you guys especially you Leo"

There was silence for a while as a tear slid down Leo's cheek slightly. He didn't want to know what shredder was doing to her, he finally answered April in fear, his voice soft and calm but unsure.  
"We don't know that yet"

The hairs on Casey's and April's necks stood on their tips. Fear was definitely something that was they were all feeling right now. Anything could be happening to Liz. Shredder could be torturing her, dumping her in mutagen. Keeping her locked in a dark cell or possibly trying to harness her abilities for himself so that he wouldn't need Liz to do his bidding.

"We need you two to monitor from outside, tell us of any activity. While we infiltrate, rescue and get out of there"

"Wait you us to sit on the side lines" argued Casey

"Sorry Case, maybe next time"

Leo stood up and nodded at his brothers and friends signalling that it was time. He had over looked the plans several times and made any adjustments he could that would ensure everyone's safety and that they spent as little time as possible in shredders lair to avoid anything that would compromise their objective. He was confident it was going to work, it had to because if it didn't Liz would be in shredders threshold for even longer and who knew what he would do. Each of the turtles grabbed their weapons and a stash full of smoke bombs that would come in handy. April looked over her tessen while Casey checked he had all his gear. All they all ran out of the lair Leo quickly grabbed Lizzie's katana and placed it on his shell with his own katana.

On the surface the night was quiet, it was dark and gloomy as though the city knew what was about to happen and it was watching, hoping for the best. The air was moist almost eerie and sirens could be heard in the distance getting further away. The turtles and April and Casey jumped over many roof tops not slowing down until they reached shredders lair which could be seen right in front of them. The building towered over them as they got closer and closer when they had finally reached the building opposite Raph made sure that Casey and April knew to stay on the roof top and that if any trouble occurred that they should retreat to the lair and await for their arrival. The guys finally left and jumped down to the street hiding in the shadows so that the foot bots guarding the outside of the building would not spot them.

The foot bots surveyed the area occasionally moving and switching positions with another that was in the same vicinity. Raph, Don and Mikey Looked at their leader as he gave hand signals to tell them how to execute the plan now. They had to stay silent so that they had the best opportunity to get Liz otherwise things would get worse before they ever got better.

Orders were given and they all switched to stealth mode. Silence engulfed the area things were quiet too quiet and for the foot bots, not that they were smart, it was good but also scary as anything could happen. The silence was broken when a couple of foot bots fell to the floor, sparks flying off of them. More came and the turtles sprang in and in no time at all took them out. Leo had pierced them through the chest with his katana, while Raph went with a more violent approach as he was finally letting out his anger from not going in straight away or from when he found out that Liz had been kidnapped. When all the foot bots where down and blowing out sparks they took no time in going inside and running through the corridors. From time to time a foot bot appeared and was either left in pieces from Mikey's nunchucks or they had snuck around it stealthily.

They were nearing the dungeons and were about to turn a corner to start down another everlasting corridor when Tiger claw blocked their path. They halted and stood in a prepared stance if they had to fight through the cat to get to Liz then that it what they were going to do.

"We knew you would come eventually turtles but you have already failed"

Each of them shared a confused look on their faces. They wanted to ask why but didn't think that they really did want to know the answer. Something told them that things were definitely getting worse. Donnie was about to attack, the blade at the end of his bo staff sticking out that he had used to take down the foot bots, he span his weapon and was about to strike but was concerned when Tiger claw did't look as though he was going to defend himself. Don's bo was going to hit Tiger claw when a hand caught it and snatched it away from him. A kick pushed Donatello back as his brothers caught him and looked up at their attacker.

Mouths hung open in shock and surprise as Elizabeth stood before them she held Donnie's bo staff in her hand and stood in front of Tiger claw in a protective way. Her eyes were red and wet where she had obviously been crying but other than that the guys could not see that she had been harmed in some way.

"Lizzie are you okay?" asked Leo

He quickly stood happy to see her, he was about to hug her but was unexpectedly kicked away. Liz put up her fists ready to fight them if she had to, if they would not leave.

"Liz?"

"I'm so sorry Leonardo, I wish there was another way" she sniffled

"Why are you doing this Liz" exclaimed Mikey

Liz wanted to talk to them, she wanted to hug them all and apologise, she especially wanted to kiss Leo but she was reminded of the situation from the sound of Tiger claw behind her. She could fell his hard breathing and the snarling noises he made. She gave no answer to the youngest turtle. Liz wanted to make this as painless as possible for her but that seemed impossible the only thing she could do was not talk it would not make things any easier but there was nothing else.

She approached Mikey and punched him hard, she began to cry again with every second that she stood against them. It was her worst nightmare although she had not hurt them using her powers yet but then she thought maybe she would eventually if they did leave she would still have to hurt them later and this time it wouldn't be just simply punching and kicking them backwards.

"Liz I don't want to hurt you" shouted Raph

Rahael came closer to her he did not put his sais up to attack he just held them as though he was never going to use them. Liz saw this, she saw how that he wasn't going to hurt her even when she was hurting them although it wasn't as bad as she had dreamed. She looked in to Raph's emerald green eyes and saw in them that Raph would never hurt her and his intentions were all true but she never doubted them. Once again she was reminded about the situation and was interrupted in her thoughts by Tiger claw behind her. She had to attack Raph even if he wasn't going to. This time she knew that the cat behind her wanted her to be more brutal so she concentrated and before she knew it her ears were filled with Raph screaming in pain. He fell to the floor in front of her while his brothers ran to his side.

"Raph what's wrong?"

"M….My….He…Head"

"Donnie"

Leo looked to his clever brother for an explanation. Don stared at the crying girl stood before them.

"It's Liz, she's invading his mind. She's killing him if she wanted to"

Leo felt his brother's pain, maybe not literally, but it pained him to see his hot headed brother in pain and adding to that pain his girlfriend was doing this but Leo did not blame her he could see that she really didn't want to do this. In fact all of them could see that this is the last thing she would want do.

Liz's heart thudded and any minute she expected her heart to break through her rib cage and burst out, she was sure that she was listening more to her head than her heart. She knew that if she carried on she would die too along with them.

"You know he did nothing for me, so I'm not going to do anything for him. This is not worth hurting the ones I love" Liz exclaimed

Liz released Raph and he almost slipped in to unconsciousness but held in there as he noticed Liz's actions. She quickly grabbed one of Raph's sais and lift her leg swinging it around until it collided with Tiger claw's face. As he stepped back from the impact and was slowly recovering, Liz held the sai sideways and swung her arm striking tiger claw in the arm. She made a slit in his arm and he started to bleed, his face definitely gave away that he was in pain but he was not letting it be known.

"You traitor, you father will pay for your mistake"

He recovered and was about to attack her but saw that the turtles had recovered too and were stood behind the brunette ready to fight him.

"You can mess with my father but you're through messing with me"

Liz jumped up and lunged her leg at the cat kicking him and when she landed back on the ground she gave him a couple of punched before he retreated away.

"Fight me like a cat you coward" she shouted after him

When she was sure he was gone she turned to face the guys as she was still crying.

"I'm so sorry guys"

"They were using your father against you?" asked Mikey

She nodded in reply and welcomed the hug that he gave her, it made her feel special and warm. When they withdrew Don came to her and hugged her, obviously they all felt bad for her even though she was just trying to kill them. When Don and Liz withdrew, Liz turned to Raph.

"I don't know how to make it up to you Raph"

"You don't have to" He smiled

Although he was the tough guy he openly welcomed a hug from her as he understood why she did it but he was grateful that she stopped, that even though her father was her family she still saved him, she let him go. Once Raph and Liz we done she turned to Leo leaving him last something told her that this would hurt more. Leo smiled at her and wiped away her tears.

"You gave up your father for us"

"Yeah well He has never really been my dad or family. You guys are my family"

She then smiled back and returned the kiss that Leo gave her, the others could tell that they had wanted to do that for a while but after about a minute they were interrupted by Mikey.

"This is sweet and all and I hate to break it up but this really isn't the place"

"He's right we've got to get out of here" said Don

Immediately they started running towards the nearest exit that they knew of. Leo and Liz held hands as they sprinted not letting any foot bots that were in the way stop them as they threw shruikens at them from afar to destroy them quickly and not prolong their stay in shredders lair. As they came to the exit they were blocked once again but this time by shredder and Baxter Stockman.

"You have failed my Elizabeth and now your father paid the price"

"That won't work on me, I don't care for him just like he never cared for me"

Leo, still holding her hand, walked in front of her so that she was protectively behind him. She saw her katana sheathed on Leo's shell as well as his and using her other hand she took it out and held it defensively. Leo did the same with his other hand and the others also took out their weapons ready to fight their way out of the building.

"You can't have her shredder" yelled Leo

"O but I already do"

The shredder looked down on Stockman and nodded in doing so Stockman pushed a button on a console he was holding. The turtles waited for something to happen but there was nothing. Raph was about to gloat about the failure of shredders plan when Liz suddenly gasped and let go of Leo. Each turned to her asking her what was wrong but she didn't answer. Her head had loosely fell forward but she was still standing. Don put his hand on her shoulder and bent down slightly to look up in to her face but her eyes were closed. When he was looking her over her eyes suddenly opened scaring him and she pushed him backwards violently.

"Lizzie"

Elizabeth looked blankly at each of them, there was no emotion in her eyes, no sign of her in control of her body it was as though her own telepathy controlling was working against her.

"Liz it's me, Leo. Let me…"

He was cut short by Liz swinging her katana around at him.

"Elizabeth destroy the turtles" commanded shredder

"No, Liz remember us, your family"

"It won't work Leo, before shredder got her to obey her by using her dad as leverage but because it failed he activated a failsafe"

"What?" shouted Mikey

"A failsafe, she's being mind controlled by shredder…"


	12. Chapter 12

**TMNT: Family**

 **Chapter 12**

Her eyes stared straight forward there was no curiousness in her surroundings or distraction from the small noises that could be heard from time to time or even tracking the man hidden behind metal that was circling her. There was no sign of her thinking for herself as she stood completely still awaiting orders.

"It has been too long since they retreated, you fail to locate their lair every time, there must be a way to draw them out" shredder bellowed

Karai kneeled before her father behind Liz as he circled the mindless girl. She felt guilty that she had failed her sensei too many times and she also felt a little scared. Karai did not want to get mutated like the others that had failed before her.

"I'm sorry father but they know our intensions now it has become more difficult to find them"

"Go again and this time take Elizabeth with you, they will come if they know that she is out in the open"

"But father..." she stopped suddenly not wanting to argue with him but then carried on "Master Leonardo is her weakness if she sees him hurt or possible about to die the mind control device implanted may short circuit, the plan will fail"

"Yes however Elizabeth is Leonardo's weakness and so he will come for her. She will use her abilities to destroy them"

Karai stood and began to walk out of the room.

"Elizabeth go with Karai and destroy the turtles"

"Yes Master"

Liz bowed to her master and followed Karai out of the room.

It had been a week since the guys had tried to rescue Lizzie and almost succeeded. Leonardo was in the dojo practising his katas, his swords displayed on the opposite him, he had been practising non-stop since he was forced to leave Liz behind. This had made him feel so sad and empty, he wished that he had not failed her again. Master Splinter was watching his eldest son from his room, his door open slightly, he worried about Leonardo but saw no need to talk to him as there was nothing to say it was better that Leo express his feelings in training so that he could then later concentrate on the situation at hand.

Leo closed his eyes catching a quick breath before continuing his extra training.

 _Flashback_

" _Liz please I won't leave you"_

 _Leo tried to approach him but she focussed on him hard and began invading his mind like she had previously done with Raphael in the corridor. Leo fell backwards his hands grasped his head as he was experiencing the worst headache ever it was as if his head was about to explode._

 _Mikey ran at Liz and attacked her with his chucks swinging them left and right, she evaded his moves but his attempts at distracting her from Leo were failing as she seemed to have learned to fight hand to hand as well as mentally at once. Donnie grabbed Leo and made him lean on him as Don led Leo to the exit, Leo saw where he was going and even though his head was still screaming he protested which made him drop to the floor. Raph jumped in to help Mikey as he pushed Liz down and then made to the exit with Mikey in tow._

" _LEO WE HAVE TO RETREAT!" shouted Raph_

" _NO, I WON'T LEAVE HER!"_

 _At once the three of them grasped their older brother and dragged him out of the evil building leaving Liz behind._

" _NO ELIZABETH!" screamed Leo_

Leo quickly awoken from his memories and began training again. Sweat beads trailed down his head and his chest heaved hard as he struggled to keep himself calm. He grunted at every move and screamed with anger as he struck the air with hard force. He stopped suddenly and walked out heading straight for Donnie's lab.

"So the best option is to wait until Liz is out in the open and then we use this gas that I have made to knock her out safely so that we can bring her back here and I can figure out how to snap her out of it"

"What do you mean knock her out safely Donnie?" asked Raph

"Well because she is abnormal regular knock out gas might be dangerous but this stuff is safe to use, we just got to wait for the opportune moment, which is why Mikey is on surveillance duty right now"

Don looked upon his computer that showed an orange spot which signified Mikey's location as well as quick communication on the right side just in case there was any activity that needed to be reported. Raph stood leaning on the wall next to the door waiting for something to happen so that they could move out as soon as possible, inspecting the room Raph then noticed Leo's presence at the door.

"Leo are you okay?"

He didn't answer just walked over to Don's desk and awaited an update.

"Sorry Leo, looks like nothing is going on tonight. You need to rest bro, training all the time is tiring you, it's not doing you any good"

"I won't rest not until Liz is safe and Shredder has finally paid for what he has done to her"

With that Leo left, he didn't want to talk it only hurt him. All Leo wanted was Liz safe in his arms. Since she had been taken he felt like there was a hole in his heart and it was forever more growing the longer he was separated from her, Leo loved her but only now does he see how much. He sat down on the couch hunched over trying to stay strong.

"It is ok to feel down my son but to blame yourself and to constantly ware yourself down is not healthy, it will not help you get her back"

Leo looked up at his sensei in response to his voice and words but had nothing to say in return. Splinter then sat next to his son seeing that maybe a few wise words may help put him on the right road.

"When I lost my wife I thought that I would not recover. I didn't think that there was a point in carrying on but you four gave me hope and a purpose and for that I am forever grateful. Leonardo you need to make sure that your feelings don't cloud your judgement to lead your brothers"

"Is it that obvious Sensei that I don't want to be without her?"

Splinter nodded in reply to Leo's question and waited for him to speak.

"I know my feelings of losing her to shredder again got in the way a week ago but restrain them"

"I have taught you many things, how to defend yourself through ninjutsu, how to harden yourself towards making difficult decisions but what I really needed to teach you was how to survive a heartache especially one that would put you as far down as you are now my son"

"I don't think you can teach that Sensei, only share your experience so that we have some guidance"

Splinter smiled, his son was right he could not teach that as everyone's heart was different, unique and Leonardo's was definitely one with something missing in it. It was something that Splinter could not heal only Elizabeth herself could do that but what worried him the most was whether she felt completely the same as Leo. Did she have a whole in her heart without the blue clad turtle too?

"Leo we got activity, Liz is out in the open with Karai and foot bots. This might be the only chance we get"

Leo immediately stood.

"Let's roll out"

The three turtles grabbed their weapons from the dojo, Donnie also putting a bag around his shoulders with equipment in, and ran out of the lair to meet with Mikey and put their plan in to action.

"I'm coming Lizzie. This time I'm not leaving without you" Leo whispered to himself.

 **Sorry guys this will have to be a short one but the next one will be longer. Thank you for all your support and reviews please keep them coming. This fic will soon be over now and would love to know if you guys will want a sequel or another fic perhaps with raphXoc or maybe even aprilX? Would love to know your views. Thank you again. R &R.**


	13. Chapter 13

**TMNT: Family**

 **Chapter 13**

Leo approached the rooftop that Liz stood upon. She paced up and down alone, he and his brothers immediately caught on that it was a trap and although Leo wanted to jump right over there and hug her he knew that she would not recognise him or even embrace him. Leo made sure he listened to his sensei. His feelings were clouding his judgement to lead his brothers which curiously has never happened before but now he was with Elizabeth he was now vulnerable to it. He climbed up on the roof and stood waiting for Liz to notice he was there. Her back was to him but even as he approached the building he had sensed him.

Her orders rang in her mind, she had to destroy the turtles but she didn't care. Why would she? Her eyes stared straight forward she did not bother to turn to face him.

"Elizabeth listen, I'm not going to give up on you no matter what"

Before Leonardo could say anything else he found himself kneeling on the floor, he tried to fight against it but he could not control his own body. He then looked towards Liz who had not turned to face him and Karai had now made herself visible from where she was hiding. She slowly walked towards him and then circled him.

"It's no use Leo, she is now under shredders control, we've taught her how to expand her powers. See how she control's you but you are now aware of it"

Leo tried to ignore Karai. He just stared at the girl he loves and saw no emotion in her eyes like she was not even in there but Leo didn't care what Liz to him because it wasn't really her. Free will was not present in Elizabeth as shredder took that away from her a while ago and he was going to fight for it. Karai drew out her katana and held it high she was about to strike Leo when a sai clashed with her weapon and sent it flying across the roof. The foot bots that had appeared along with Karai next to Liz readied themselves automatically but were soon taken down with explosive arrows through their mechanical heads. Mikey and Raph jumped from the top of the building next to it where Donnie was standing ready with a bow in his hand.

Raph immediately went towards Karai and started distracting her from Liz. While Mikey ran over to Liz and as instructed carefully from Donnie took out a canister and removed a pin releasing a gas. Before Mikey inhaled any of it rolled it towards Liz while he made sure that Leo was okay.

"Dude you okay?"

"I'm good Mikey" was Leo's reply

Leo then realised that he could then move himself and as he looked up at Liz when the gas cleared he saw her eyes slipping shut and her legs starting to give way. Leo then pushed his younger brother aside and ran to her. Liz began to fall as he came and he quickly caught her before she completely fell, kneeling down as he held her Leo gently spoke to her as she began to slip in to unconsciousness.

"Don't worry Lizzie I've got you"

Leo then got a good grasp on Liz as he stood holding her in his arms bridal style. He saw both of his brothers fighting off Karai and when she saw that Leo had Liz she quickly retreated. Leo then lead the way back to lair after joining back up with Donnie on opposite building.

Karai watched from afar as the turtles regrouped and took the unconscious Elizabeth with them back to their lair, she knew she had to go back to her master with another failure but then saw an advantage to it. The turtles only knocked Liz out her orders for destroying the turtles still stand so when she comes to she will try once again to kill them except this time she will be on her own. Of course shredder wouldn't be very happy about that but it could prove useful for when Elizabeth escapes she will learn the location of the turtle's lair. Once they were gone Karai went back for her katana and then decided it was better to go give shredder the news of another failure but a possible success sooner rather than later.

Leonardo placed Liz down on the couch with a pillow underneath her head, Mikey went straight to the kitchen and fetched a glass of water for Liz. Of course he decided he was hungry after he gave the glass to Leo so he went back in to the kitchen. Donnie immediately ran to his lab putting his backpack away and grabbing some equipment that he thought he might need. He kneeled down beside Leo with Liz lying in front of him. Donnie began running scans with different pieces of technology he had made himself trying to find the source of Elizabeth's mind control.

Raph was sat down on the opposite side of the couch watching his brothers tend to the unconscious brunette, he knew that she would wake up some when and when she did she would still carry out previous commands which they all guessed were to kill them.

Leo held on to Lizzie's hand, his face drenched in worry for his girlfriend that lay in front of him. He watched as Don did his thing with his toys that he liked to make.

"Don what have they done to her?" Leo questioned

"Look"

Donnie carefully lifted Lizzie's head from the pillow and moved her long hair out of the way to show a small mechanical device attached to the back lower part of her head, it had a continuous red light flashing on the left side as well as a green light that did not seem to light at all. Its rectangular shape was outlined by small cylinders that dug in to her head.

"Can you get it off?"

"Maybe but we don't know what kind of damage I might do if I try to remove it…Perhaps if we try to short circuit it"

"How do we do that genius?" asked Raph

Don thought for a moment.

"Originally Liz was hurting us because shredder had her dad but she made the decision that she loved us more than her father, she couldn't take hurting us especially you Leo and that is what made her snap out of it even though she chose to go along with it"

"So you're saying that to short circuit the mech we have to let her hurt us" complained Raph

"I think so"

"But she has already done that"

"Not severely she hasn't"

"Great, you think everything will turn back to normal when she kills us"

Don gave an irritated look to Raphael for him complaints and sarcasm.

"I'll do it"

Raph was about to annoy Don more when he suddenly turned to Leo with wide eyes.

"What?"

"When she wakes up you guys make sure she doesn't get out by blocking the exits while I make sure her focus is on me"

"Leo, she might kill you"

"I know which is why I think I am the best person to do this, don't argue with me please I want to do this, for Lizzie"

Donnie placed Lizzie's head back down and walked away to the kitchen to get Mikey so that they could put Leo's plan in to action as he knew the Liz would wake up any minute. Raph covered the main entrance and exit. Donnie covered the lab and Mikey the dojo, Leo sat himself down in the middle of the sitting area staring at Liz. He was a little surprised that Lizzie woke so suddenly and looked at her surroundings probably surveying it for shredder but her emotionless eyes set on Leo as he stood. Liz stood too she waited for Leo to do something as she remembered what the shredder had previously told her.

"Lizzie, I want to you to know that I will never give up on you"

Liz didn't say anything she only looked at Leo hard and as soon as Leo saw this he knew what was about to happen. At once Leo shouted out in pain as his head felt like it was about to explode. Raph and the others found it really hard to watch as their older brother was yelling out, they had previously told master Splinter what was about to happen as they didn't want their sensei running in when he heard Leo screaming. Of course given the choice they would all go help Leo, they wouldn't hurt Elizabeth but they would knock her out again. Mikey looked to raph and only got a shake of his head, Don did the same but it was clear they were all thinking the same thing. They wanted to jump in and protect Leo but for once they chose to stay out of it because it was between Leonardo and Elizabeth.

Lizzie didn't flinch at seeing Leonardo in pain. It was something that they were hoping would make her hesitate but it wasn't working. For Leo his mind wasn't able to think and slowly he felt parts of his body becoming numb, losing their sense of touch. He never gave much thought about how he might die but for someone sounded like a nice way to go. He knew that he could not take much more of this and that if she really wanted to Liz could make this more painful and he would probably not last as long but then why was she not killing him quickly? Leo tried to think. It was as though she was giving him or the others the chance to do something, but the only thing they could do to stop her would be to kill her. Kill her?

"She's still in there" Leo shouted

The others didn't respond, they did not want to compromise their positions.

"She knows what's going on, she's trying to help us"

Donnie just shrugged at Mikey and Raph. Raph was about to step in but stopped when Leo spoke up again.

"Elizabeth I know you're in there. You can fight this… I am doing this for you"

At once the pain stopped and Leo looked up to see Liz standing over him.

"For me?" she whispered

"I would die for you Lizzie" he replied

She kneeled down next to him and looked in to his deep blue eyes, it was then she felt something that she recognised. Liz placed her hand on his cheek and slowly leaned in. She could smell his scent it was something that she found herself ache for like she missed it. As soon as she was sure and close enough she embraced him and kissed him, Leo returned the kiss as he had missed this so much. As they kissed and did not stop sparks flew from Lizzie's head and hissing noise could be heard, the others came closer and as they approached the noise died down. As the two still continued to kiss passionately both began to cry slightly.

"Liz?"

Then they stopped and Lizzie looked up at the three that walked cautiously towards them both.

"That's me" she smiled

She immediately stood and scuttled to Mikey. He welcomed her with open arms and gave her a huge hug. She smiled although she looked towards Raph for some help as she was being starved of air.

"Come on bro, give her some air"

Raph pried Liz from his little brother's arms and when she was free she turned to him and even though he is never open about them she gave him a warm hug too.

"Sorry tough guy but you really wanted one, you just don't know how to ask"

She then turned to Donnie who openly accepted the hug. It wasn't long before Liz turned towards Leo again and she did not hug him until he opened up his arms and she gladly fell right in to them.

"I'm…I'm so sorry Leonardo"

"Ssshhh you have nothing to be sorry about"

"Neither do you"

They then let each other go as Leo had a puzzled look on his face.

"You think you failed me. You didn't protect me. Leo I didn't ask for your protection, I asked for your love"

"And my love you will always have"

They all laughed now that things had turned back to the way they were. But Liz was then troubled again.

"What about shredder?"

"Well I think it's high time we did something about him" exclaimed Leo

"And we have an easy way in"

"What do you mean?" asked Raph

"Me"

"No way!" they all said in unison

"I can easily play obedient zombie and I can tell him that you guys are dead to lower his guard"

"Sounds like a plan" said Mikey

"It's not a plan"

"But it's the only one we've got"

"So let's do it"


	14. Chapter 14

**Tmnt: Family**

 **Chapter 14**

Elizabeth approached the dark, gloomy building that she was all too familiar with, she stopped before entering and gave out a long breath that she didn't know she was holding. She had to go in it was the only way things were going to change and she wanted to put the last couple of weeks behind her and move on. Liz just wanted to be with Leo and the others in the lair again where things were peaceful or almost peaceful if it wasn't for Mikey. She also thought about her relationship with the fearless leader of the four and how he said he would die for her, even if it wasn't in normal circumstances. Lizzie broke her train of thought quickly and entered through the door as soon as she was in the door slammed shut behind her she was surrounded by foot bots, she remembered what Donnie had told her previously on their way there, don't show emotion, Liz stood still staring straight forward waiting for something to happen. This time she did not let herself lose her thoughts she had to remain a zombie and she knew that the foot would test that. After a couple of minutes waiting he finally appeared from the shadows. But before he spoke up Liz noticed that he examined her, probably looking for any signs that she might have changed back however Liz kept her cool she didn't follow any of his movements and when he was done she kneeled before him which she tried to fight because she would never willingly do so.

"How did you escape the turtles?" He questioned

"It was them that that didn't escape me, master" she smirked

"Excellent and splinter?"'shredder asked

"He got away but in time he will come to us"

Shredder waved his arm and the foot bots eased themselves and walked away. Lizzie stood and followed shredder to his throne room where he sat high. He asked Liz to stand beside him as his best asset. Of course as an obedient zombie she had to obey her so called master. As shredder summoned Karai Lizzie remembered to make sure that she kept her focus forward as to not draw any attention or bust herself for that matter. Karai kneeled before shredder and took notice of Liz standing like a drone next to him. She grew angry at that, it was her rightful spot next her father and now it was taken by the next best thing, someone more skilled and powerful than her.

"You summoned me father"

"Yes Karai, I want you to take the foot bots out and scout the city for splinter. Capture him and bring him to me" shredder frowned deeply as he saw his plan unfolding

"Yes master" Karai stood and began heading towards the door when she finally decided to speak up.

"With respect, why not send her out there?"

Shredder disliked Karai questioning his authority and made it clear by his expression that he was losing his patience with her.

"Elizabeth accomplished her mission to destroy the turtles even as your plan failed. It's high time you proved yourself to me"

Karai obeyed him and knew that if she argued she would pay for it whether she was his daughter or not. She left the room frustrated with the new arrival that seems to have replaced her. Once shredder had summoned everyone he wanted and gave them missions he asked Elizabeth to remain in the throne room while he went to deal with other important business. Obviously something he didn't want Lizzie seeing even if he did think she was under his control. He strode towards the giant double doors his heavy footsteps echoed throughout the room and seemed to shake it from side to side. Before the large tin man could reach the doors his path was blocked by Leo and Raph and his retreat was blocked by Donnie and Mikey. All four turtles had their weapons out ready and were about to strike, not giving shredder too much time to gather his thoughts. Lizzie suddenly saw the guys spring in to action.

Leo swung his katana at shredder but was deflected by the sharp blades on his wrist, Mikey span his nunchucks and hit shredder on his back but was easily kicked away at which point Liz had descended the stairs and was now tending to Mikey who was finding hard to get back up. Raph quickly charged in to help Leo, his sais clashed with Leo's katana when shredder saw Raph coming and pushed Leo off, just as Donnie span his bo staff and attacked shredders legs knocking him to the floor but when Raph recovered and jumping in to the air and lunged his leg out to land on shredder he had swiftly rolled away and jolted up to catch Michelangelo's attack. But before he could counter attack Mikey, Leo did a 360 degree swing of his leg which then hit shredder in the chest and pushed him back slightly letting mikey's chucks go and pushing him back too. Donnie released the blade he put in the end of his weapon and began to stab at the evil overlord but it did not have much effect on the armour and on the third stab shredder caught the blade in his own and twist his wrist around which effectively snapped Donatello's. Raph then used his strength to his advantage and used his fists to keep pushing shredder back but he was only evading the attacks and when shredder saw the two youngest turtles running towards him again he let Raph fall in to his grasp and used his weight to swing the hot head in to the other two. Three turtles were down and had bruises all over them, only Leo remained. His swords were pointed at the control freak who circled him waiting for the reptile to attack first but Leo was waiting for him to do that too. Lizzie had Raph, don and Mikey at her feet and could not encourage them to get up so she was about to draw out her own katana, that she had been trying to translate the inscriptions on, and join the fight but Leo shook his head at her so she waited.

Leonardo was losing his breath every time he attached and evaded, although he seemed to be taking a hit all the time. His body was also covered in bruises but he was not going to give up he had to try, he had to weaken shredder before Lizzie could invade his mind but it was proving to be more difficult than previously anticipated. Leo began struggling to keep up and when he tried to evade he fell to the floor and shredder struck him. The brave turtles didn't scream but grunt as there was two large,deep cuts in his left arm and leg. Blood then seeped out of the wounds, Leo put both hands on them to stop the bleeding but it wasn't working. Liz had had enough of watching, it was time for her to spring in to action. She saw that shredder was about to strike Leo again and quickly drew her sword and jumped beside ran to Leo's side and held the katana up defensively catching shredders attack and blocking it. By this time Raph, Mikey and Don had managed to get up but saw that their weapons were to far away and Leo was badly injured as blood poured out of his arm and leg. Raph saw Lizzie fighting shredder and weapon or not ran in to help her charged into shredder like a rhino would taking the tin can down as well as himself.

Before Raph could find the strength to get up he received a large amount of kicks from a fast recovering shredder but this was stopped by Mikey who tried landing a couple of punched which didn't seem to work and so received a great bang to his head which made him unconscious. The foot leader was about to return to beating up Raph but was intercepted by Lizzie again with her kicks and punches that did seem to have some effect. Raph took the distraction to crawl to Donnie who was tending to Leo but he did not have the equipment to do any effective help to their injuries.

"You okay Raph?" He asked

"Finding it hard to breath and my legs really hurt" Was his reply

"I need to stitch Leo's wounds soon otherwise he'll lose too Much blood, Mikey's head is bleeding and I'm finding it hard to move my arms without them hurting"

"So everything's just peachy then" exaggerated Raph

"Need to help Lizzie" whispered Leo

"No Leo, you can't you're too hurt just like the rest of us. We need to retreat" suggested Don

"How do we do that with an unconscious Mikey, almost unconscious Leo and us who can barely walk" asked Raph

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of murmurs from Liz as she bravely fought shredder.

"You thought you could trick me?"

"No I did trick you"

That, of course, ticked him off as she was telling the truth. He swung his wrist blades at her and she skilfully blocked them with her own katana but even she was no match for him as he did land a couple of cuts on her which she did evade slightly not allowing him to do any serious damage. As Liz cartwheeled away from an attack she took a quick glimpse of the others and they all barley looked like they were awake, but most of all it pained her to see Leo in so much pain and his arm and leg gushing out a fair amount of blood. She was in deep thought and totally forgot about her fight but was suddenly reminded when a sharp blade slit her skin around her stomach. She put her hand there and then withdrew it and saw blood coming out. She didn't have time to treat it as she saw another attack coming and put her sword up to block it and then smack it away from her. As she continued to fight she kept her other hand on her wound to put pressure on it but saw that it only weakened her. What she really needed was more power and then she remembered the ancient inscriptions, she did not finish translating them before all of this had happened so she was going to have to try and remember the book she bought and do it quickly in her head.

Her telepathy was helping as it helped to recall the book and use her own knowledge but she was finding it extremely difficult to attack shredder at the same time. She did however manage to cut him s few times but it seemed useless, she was fighting a master of ninjutsu ad she was still just a student. It was then that she thought that the shredder must have some knowledge and so tapped in to his head which did distract his slightly but it still did not stop him from delivering hard attacks or blocking hers. But as she managed to punch him in the face and he fell backwards a few steps she finally managed to say what she had been studying for long time.

Lizzie saw shredder running towards her, lifting his wrist blades up and and then bringing them down with such force but before he could touch her she lifted her katana in to the air and shouted as loud as she could closing her eyes as she did.

"Koketsu ni irazunba koji wo ezu!"

Immediately the inscriptions glowed a light cyan colour as well as the sharp end of the blade. She opened her eyes and swung down and hit the wrist blades and on contact his wearable weapons shattered in to pieces. He tried to stop running but when this happened and stopped behind Liz but she wasn't finished as she sensed him directly behind her and before he could find another weapons she swung her blade around as she turned, her brown hair twisting along as it followed her movements, until her katana was implanted in to his side and he was on the floor with blooding flowing quickly out of him. She withdrew her katana and placed it back in its sheath on her back but before she left him to go to the guys she kicked him plenty of times to make sure he was weak and had some bruises too. When she was sure he had had enough she retreated to where Don sat with Leo and Raph and now Mikey who Don managed to drag over to them and placed one of their leather straps around his head, she kneeled beside them.

"You guys alright?"

"We need to get out of here, before anyone comes" suggested Donnie

Liz looked around and saw that the only good way out would be the way she came in as they were injured and two of them were unconscious so jumping on rooftops was probably a bad idea.

"Let's get outta here" she exclaimed

As Raph managed to get up with Don he reached down and carefully placed Leo over his shoulder, Don doing the same with Mikey. As they slowly made their way to the doors Lizzie took the opportunity when she saw shredder was permanently down to invade his mind. She concentrated really hard and knew that it was having a big he began yelling and grunting in agonising pain, she knew she could now keep doing it while she escaped nut as she was about to exit with the others Karai entered along with tigerclaw and before they could start attacking them she invaded their minds too. Instantly they both fell to the floor in pain and the way was then clear to escape.

Only a couple of foot bots were blocking their path out but a couple of well thrown shurikens took care of them. Once outside the five of them wasted no time in getting down a manhole cover and running straight to the lair, the night was dark and no one was in sight so they wouldn't have been seen. As they slipped down the manhole with great difficulty seeing as two of them were unconscious Raph noticed that Lizzie was still focused and then it clicked to him that even though they were a good distance away she was still invading their minds.

"Liz you can realise them now"

She only looked at Raphael in reply and knew that he was right and so she did and felt s lot better seeing as it was tarting to give her a headache. Once they eventually got to the lair they immediately went to Donnie's lab, Leo and Mikey were placed on a small mattress on the floor carefully by then master splinter has heard them and came rushing in to help them. He had brought some fresh water and clean cloths and towels to clean their wounds with. Lizzie didn't waste time in taking away the temporary bandage from Leo's arm and leg made from their leather straps and applying pressure while she cleaned it and wrapped them up properly but she knew that Leo would need stitches as he took quite a hit. It was late and everyone was tired so Donatello made sure that everyone's wounds were wrapped up nicely but he was concerned for Leo and decided that he would stitch his wound rather than wait till morning to do it, Lizzie assisted while Raph had decided that he needed a lot of sleep. It did take a while but the stitches were placed nicely and then was wrapped in a bandage again.

"Donatello and Elizabeth go get some rest you both need it, it will watch over Leonardo and Michaelangelo" said splinter

Liz and Don did not protest as they were both exhausted and would probably rave about their victory in the morning when they were feeling better and so did as told.

"Liz what did you chant to activate the katanas power?" He asked sleepily

" Koketsu ni irazunba koji wo ezu?"

"Yeah what does it mean?"

"It means if you do not enter the Tigers cave, you will not catch its cub"

Don gave her a puzzled look which she only laughed at.

"It literally means nothing ventured then nothing gained. You can't do anything without risking something"

"I don't get it"

"You'd think out of anyone you would understand" Liz yawned "I'll tell you tomorrow when I'm well rested"

With that said they both retreated to their rooms however Liz did not go to her room she went to Leo's and slept in there as she loved his scent and had missed it the entire time she was under shredders control. It gave her peace of mind and allowed her to fall asleep a lot better.

 **Thanks for reading, please leave a review and let me know what you want to see next.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Tmnt: Family**

 **Chapter 15**

The next morning Lizzie woke up early, she awoke to the scent of Leo but reminded herself that he was unconscious in Donatello's lab. She set her eyes on her katana that she placed on the wall where Leo would sometimes place his own, she was so grateful that master Splinter had given it to her as it allowed her to defeat shredder but she had honour so she did not kill him but in the back of her mind she promised that he would one day feel her pain. Right now Liz was content, she had a family that cared for her and boyfriend that loved her as much as she loved him. After losing herself in deep thought for about 5 minutes Liz decided to get up her, she dragged her body out of the bedroom with her katana and into the bathroom with some clean clothes that she quickly fetched from her room. Lizzie washed herself carefully making sure that she did not clean her own wounds vigorously, she washed away the memories of yesterday hoping to forget it but she knew that the guys would want to talk about it. She climbed out the shower and dried her hair, she would sometimes air dry it mostly because she couldn't be bothered to blow dry it.

When she was done and clean she walked out of the bathroom and was about to head towards the kitchen but was greeted by Raphael sleepily walking out of his room and walking into the bathroom slowly.

"Hungry?" she asked

Raph nodded still too tired to speak, he needed time to wake up properly from his deep slumber. Lizzie smiled at him and carried on towards the kitchen just as she was entering she wondered if she should see how Leo and Mikey was doing but knew that Raph would come out of the bathroom sooner or later and Donnie would finally wake up and they would want something to eat. Seeing as the chef was still unconscious she thought that it would finally be her turn to make the breakfast, immediately she decided that waffles were the way to go after yesterday's events. When gathering the mixing bowl and the waffle maker out of the cupboard her head went into the clouds with her thoughts taking over.

He watched her in the kitchen as she went about making the breakfast, she took it upon herself to make it this morning as his younger brother was not up to it still. He could see that she had had a shower not too long ago as her brown hair was perfectly framing her face, the top part was straight and the ends were curled slightly so that is bounced on her shoulders. She would occasionally push her hair back behind her ear when she was looking down so that she could clearly see what she was doing. He noticed that she had brought her katana with her and leaned it on the wall next to the refrigerator. She wore his favourite baby blue top with some streaks of a deep shade of blue down her sides, her jeans clung to her legs to show off her form.

A smile began to creep up her face as she placed a waffle down on the breakfast bar where Leonardo would usually sit. It was then that it clicked in his head that she knew that he was there and she had made him a waffle to build up his strength. He approached her smiling back at her immediately she stopped what she was doing and gave him her full attention. Placing her lips on his and embracing deeply into each other. Letting the other know that they were there and it was real the threat was over for now anyway. They continued to kiss until Liz could sense Raphael and Donatello approaching so she gave Leo a quick peck before she began making the others their food. Both of the brothers were surprised to see their eldest up already and looking pretty fine.

"Hey Leo, how ya doing bro?" asked Raph

Leo finished chewing before answering his brother's question.

"I'm good. I just feel sore and a little pain if I move too fast or something"

"I'll give you some painkillers after breakfast if you want Leo" Don offered

"Na, don't worry about it Donnie I'll be fine"

Raph sat beside Leo and was immediately handed a plate with two waffles on. Donnie was also given his plate with his waffles on after he had made everyone a mug of coffee. Lizzie sat on the other side of Leo with Donnie next to her. As she sat she gave Leo a warming smile and a quick kiss on the cheek before eating her own breakfast, she grabbed the butter from the middle of the area and spread some of it on her waffles. She enjoyed a peaceful breakfast where Mikey wasn't teasing Raph or vice versa and where she didn't have to cringe at the sight of Mikey's eating habits. Just as she finished eating Master splinter entered the kitchen and made himself some tea he sat with his sons and Lizzie and began to eat a waffle that Liz had quickly prepared for him.

"My sons, there will be no training today. I suggest you rest up my sons you have quite a week."

"Hai sensei" they said in unison

"Elizabeth, I hear that you have unlocked the secret behind the katana"

"Hai sensei, Koketsu ni irazunba koji wo ezu. It's powerful I think that I need to learn how to handle it before thinking of using more frequently"

"A wise decision"

"What does it mean Lizzie?" asked Leo

"If you do not enter the tigers cave, then you will not catch its cub, I guess it kinda makes sense"

"I don't get it you gained but you didn't risk anything" said Raph

"But I did I risked my life and your lives"

When they were finished they all heard a small groaning sound coming from the lab. Everyone looked at Donnie when he turned back around and he immediately got the message.

"I'll go deal with him"

Don left to go see Mikey who had obviously woken up. Raph decided that he would take advantage of having the television to himself seeing as Mikey was incapable of getting up at the moment. Liz began to clear up after breakfast when master splinter left towards the dojo for his meditation. Leo wanted to help Liz but she refused telling him to sit a rest as much as he can. I didn't take long for her to wash the dishes and dry them and then put them away. When she was done she Leo asked her if she wanted to meditate together in the dojo with sensei. Lizzie had to help Leo a little bit as he struggled to walk normally and when he did she would just stress over him stretching his stitches too much. When they were in the dojo Splinter welcomed them to his meditation session as he found it a good way to think openly and relax. Leo kneeled next to Splinter and Lizzie knelled next to him they both gave each other a quick smile before closing their eyes and breathing deeply.

Lizzie found this a great way to think over things. She thought about how long she had been looking for answers about her mother and how long she had to put up with her father not caring about her at all. She gave up going to school because she already knew everything that they taught their students. It was as her mother used to say she was gifted, smart and meant for greatness. Her mission was over now she not knows everything and has gotten her revenge although she would much rather shredder die, he still paid for what he did. Liz had finally found something worth living for and that was the turtles and Splinter, especially Leo. She never imagined herself being the type that would fall in love but somehow she did and because of that she felt blessed and rewarded for what she had already done in her life.

Elizabeth was well educated she knew things other people already knew, her missing school doesn't do anything as was about to leave any way and enter employment. She knew exactly where she wanted to work, she had given in her CV ages ago and they had offered her place there and as soon as she was done with school she was allowed to start working. The thought of working at science academy and being one of the top scientists was amazing it really made her feel normal and special against everyone else. Not to mention she has normal friends too that live on the surface instead of the sewers and she did not want to neglect them, she had been doing that so far and it was something that she was going to stop. At some point she had met these great friends that understood everything that they needed too, and they had sympathy for her about her mother. Now that things were at their best with Liz she wanted to return the favour and that had to start now or she would lose them forever.

Elizabeth's eyes flung open, she looked towards Leo and splinter to see them still meditating beside her. She checked the time on her phone that she silenced and had put in her pocket. '10:15am' time hand flown by and because of her deep thought she knew what her next step was. Lizzie quietly stood and exited the dojo, she quickly gathered her dagger and hid it in her clothing before walking out of the lair. She was glad to be on the surface during the day she had forgotten what the sun felt like on her skin, its warmth felt inviting and it reminded her of when her mother would take her out for a picnic that in turn reminded her of Leonardo's picnic on the rooftop not long ago unfortunately that date didn't end as well as it began. Liz had called her friends and has asked them to leave school during lunch break and meet her in the park, which was their usual meeting place, to talk and of course they all immediately thought that something bad had happened.

Liz walked in to the park and was headed to the centre of the park where she saw Jessica, Emma and Jayden sat down talking amongst themselves. Before she approached them she ran into April and Casey, who were in the same school as them, it was obvious that they were going to the lair so she told them that she had some things to take care of before going back. When her three friends saw her they each stood and gave her a big hug.

"Lizzie, it's been too long" said Jayden

"Feels like you go travelling for a long time and occasionally come back" stated Emma

"Actually it feels like you don't want to be around us anymore" mocked Jessica

"It's good to see you too Jess" Liz replied

"So why you call us here, we have a lesson after lunch if you're coming back"

"That's actually what I want to talk about with you guys"

Each gave the other a puzzled look.

"You guys know as well as I do that going to school doesn't do anything for me and the school doesn't care because I'm smart"

"Yeah rub it in" whispered Jess

Emma gave Jess a nudge with her elbow and then signalled for Liz to continue.

"I've been going through a very long bad time where I've almost gotten killed many times and hurt all the time. No thanks to my dad too. And now I've finally seen the light"

"What are talking about Lizzie?" asked Emma

"I'm not going back to school because I'm going to take science academy's offer to work for them"

Mouths hung open and wide eyes stared at her until they could see that she had finished.

"But then you'll take that for granted and still trying to get yourself killed trying to find answers about your mothers accident" said Jayden

"No I mean it. I've contacted the school to let them know, science academy have said that I can start tomorrow and I can't try to get myself killed anymore when I have all the answers I need. I have finally found out the truth"

"That it was an accident?"

"No. I wish it was Jess I really do but the fire wasn't an accident, it doesn't make me feel any better but I do feel more at peace"

"Who killed your mum Elizabeth?" questioned Emma

"You don't need to carry that burden Emma"

No one knew what to say after that. The three thought that this was impossible, they felt bad that they didn't support their friend when saying that was crazy but now they knew she wasn't. They find it impossible to believe that their friend is finally letting it all go and is moving on.

"So want to go to our favourite café for lunch?" asked Liz

"Sure" they agreed

"Good because I invited Danny too"

As Liz lead the way the three whispered amongst themselves about the change that was going on it was like Liz was a new person. When they arrived they found Danny outside the café with a coffee he had four other seats placed around the table. When his eyes set on Lizzie and her friends he stood and hugged Liz but just normally greeted the others. As they all sat a waitress approached with her note pad and pencil out ready.

"May I take your order?"

"Four coffee's please and three chocolate muffins"

"That'll be $15.35"

Elizabeth paid the waitress, and saw the look on the others faces.

"You didn't have to pay for us"

"Yeah I did"

Danny smiled he liked that Lizzie was happier and seemed to be more at peace.

"So looks as though you have finally given up on finding the truth that was already in front of you"

"What truth is that?"

"That it was an accident"

"But it wasn't" Jess cut in

"Don't tell me you got them into this mix now" Danny sounded annoyed

"No we were on your side Danny, until she found the truth"

"What truth?" he asked

The waitress return with the order and placed it down on the table.

"The conspiracy truth"

Liz quickly took a sip of her coffee and watched as her friends enjoyed eating their muffins. Danny was waiting to hear more.

"Listen Dan, all you need to know is that the accident claim is a lie, someone murdered my mother purposely"

"Who? Why?"

"You don't need to know who, but why… Well to get to me of course"

"You why?"

"You don't need to know that either"

"Elizabeth"

"Trust me"

She smiled at them all.

"It's good to hear you've turned over a new leaf"

"Thanks Danny"

"How did you do all this by yourself Lizzie?" Jayden asked

"I didn't"

"Oooo it's this guy you like init?" said Emma

"Yeah, you could say we're a thing now"

They all gasped.

"His brothers and he have really helped me"

"When do we get to meet em" questioned Jess

"I dunno"

They all continued to talk right through lunch. Liz felt great being able to socialise properly with her friends, it was something she had been wanting to do for so long and now felt obliged to do. She felt free and secure at the same time something that she had always wanted to feel. She checked the time on her phone and warned her friends that hey were going to be late for class if they didn't leave.

"Hey thanks Lizzie, promise that this will be regular you know" stated Jess

"Sure"

Liz waved them off and sat back down with Danny.

"You have a night shift tonight?"

"Yeah but that means I get the day off"

"Don't you get tired?"

"Don't worry I sleep"

There was moment of silence before Danny spoke up.

"If you know the truth, why don't you report it?"

"Because it's way out of the authority's hands"

"Who are you staying with then? If not your father"

"These friends that helped me, actually they're family now. You didn't expect me to put up with dad anymore did you?"

"No, and this boyfriend of yours you staying with too?"

"Yeah, why?"

"No reason"

She liked how much he cared for her, like a father figure even if he wasn't. He was kind, he was the only person that seemed to care for her at any time. Lizzie closed her eyes for a moment to absorb the moment where she was under no stress and didn't know what to do next except for start work the next day. She might even go as far as to say that right now her life was perfect. When she reopened her eyes and looked around to take in her surroundings and the fresh air. A huge grin found its way on to her face when she looked on the rooftop and saw a dark figure I blocking part of the sun out over looking her. Danny saw her smiling and followed her view but saw nothing.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I think it's time I go. It was nice seeing you Danny"

"Of course, I'll see you soon"

Lizzie left and walked quite a long way from the café so as not to make Danny suspicious but when she was far enough away she entered an alleyway and opened up a manhole and climbed down the ladder closing the man hole cover behind her.

"Do you like watching me, a bit risky don't ya think during the day?"

"Well when sensei and I were done meditating you were gone and when April and Casey arrived they said you were up on the surface taking care of some stuff so I got worried"

"You like to worry"

She approaches him behind a corner and gives him a kiss which he gladly accepts and returns.

"I've just got a life now and you know what?"

"What?"

"I'm happy"

Leo led her back to the lair where everyone including Mikey had settled in the couch area and were watching a movie. Leo sat down in front of the TV and Lizzie joined him but she laid down her head on his lap and her legs spread out across the couch.

 **Well that's it, it's finished. I hope you all enjoyed it please review and let me know if you would like a sequel or another one that involves another pairing. Thank you for all your support.**


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